The Walking Dead: The Dead Files
by Thedragoness821
Summary: Isobel Garrison & her dog, are driving cross country to visit family in Texas when all hell breaks loose & the world goes to shit. This picks up after Rick & the group was chased off the farm by walkers & are on the run. Daryl/OC but some action too.
1. Chapter 1

**The walking Dead: the Dead Files**

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING! Just let me have my fun, ok? I get no money for this.**

_Isobel Garrison & her dog, are driving cross country to visit family in Texas when all hell breaks loose & the world goes to shit. This picks up after Rick & the group was chased off the farm by walkers & are on the run. Daryl/OC but some action too._

_Author's Note: due to Dish Network being a bunch of losers & dropping AMC, I missed some of Season two, so I'm going to cut out the part where Andrea meets Michonne since I didn't see that part (what I know I read in text transcripts). So this might be kind of OT/AU though I will do my best to keep facts straight. My story picks up right before they get to the prison._

Isobel Garrison pulled up slowly to the filling station which was, like most things these days devoid of life… at least the kind of life she cared to get to know. She still hadn't gotten over the surprise of how little time it took the world to completely go to shit; she had been traveling from California to Texas to see family when this all went down.

"Stay here." She said to the huge, white dog that was riding in the RV's rumble seat. After her truck had run out of gas, she was forced to abandon it, she decided to steal something that she hoped she wouldn't have to compete with as many other survivors for fuel… if there were any survivors that is; she hadn't seen another living person since she had left Colorado… but the ones there weren't any less dangerous then the walkers. So… on her way out of Colorado, she took the liberty to commandeer an RV coach bus. It turned out to be a smart move on her part, the cargo departments under the bus had ample room for supplies & although there was no electricity, she had a water hose & a sewage connection so she could at least have water & use the toilet.

She used a crowbar to rip off the tops to the underground tanks until she found the diesel; she ran a hose down & smiled she didn't have to go that far to hit fuel. She blew unto the hose until fuel began to pour out & stuck it into the RV's intake; this is the part she hated, the bus had a two huge tanks that took forever to fill, this is when she was most vulnerable… & she knew it.

She checked her tires & the vehicle itself to make sure everything was still in order. She pulled on every one of the steel screens she had welded to the windows & windshield, her dog shadowing her in the RV, making sure to keep her in sight. She had an arsenal of weapons inside, firearms & otherwise, but she preferred to use her trusty revolver with a silencer for things like this, because she had learned very quickly that these geeks were attracted to sound & the quieter you were… the better.

The sound of spilling fuel caught her attention, the tanks were full. _'Finally!'_ she thought to herself as she hurriedly pulled the hose out & stashed it in the cargo hold of the bus. "Let's get the fuck out of here!" She said as she fired up the bus & put it into drive. Then a sudden, booming bark from her companion made her jump out of her skin. "What! … Aw, shit." she said as a small group of people stumbled out of the woods. They consisted of; a tall, thin man who looked to have been a cop at one time, & what she assumed to be his wife & kid. An older man being helped along by two girls, an Asian man, a black man & a redneck. Isobel laughed in spite of herself because this group would probably wouldn't have even been caught dead together in any other situation.

"Can I help you?" She drawled as she stepped off the RV with her rifle at the ready, her dog following her. The redneck raised his crossbow at her in response. "Please," the policemen stepped forward signaling for the redneck to lower his weapon. "We need help, our camp was overrun, we lost all of our supplies & our vehicles. We've been running for miles & some of us can't go much further." He said, the desperate look in his eyes seemed sincere. Isobel felt a brush against her leg, she looked down to see her dog's dark hazel eyes staring unblinking back at her. "Okay." She told him begrudgingly as she scratched him behind his short, cropped ears. "Well, what are you waiting for, Christmas? Come on!" She said as she held open the doors to the RV.

_This is my first WD fic, so forgive me if its not good, but I still want to know what you think._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Walking Dead: The Dead Files**

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing!**

"So, what's your story?" Rick said once they were on the road. "Well, I was on a croad trip from Cali to a family renunion in Abilene when all this shit went down, I got about as far as Colorado." "But you're not from there…" He said, judging by her accent. "No, I'm from Laredo, Texas. I moved to California with my job. So when all this went down, I headed to the CDC, but it was clear when I rolled through town that they uh… weren't going to be able to help me, so I've just been on the move since. If you stay around one place too long, they are drawn to you. So we have found that it's just safer if we keep on the move." She said from the driver's seat.

"That a dogo?" Came a voice suddenly from the rear of the RV, all eyes turned to Daryl, his were focused on Isobel's large, white dog. "Yes, that's Solo. I'm impressed, most people think he's a pit bull." Isobel said with a smile, Daryl snorted. "That ain't no pit bull, any hog hunter wit' a bit'o since would know that." He drawled, his mouth upturning into a smirk, Isobel nodded to him, a smile on her own face. "So, where are we headed?" The man named Rick said, a friendly, benevolent smile on his face. Isobel instantly liked this man. He reminded him of her brother, a stab of pain pierced her heart, she hoped he was okay. "To Texas, I have to see if my family is okay." She replied.

"Wait… what are we doing!" T Dog said as she found a secluded spot & pulled off the side of the road. "I don't rest at night, too many things can go wrong, I like to travel at night & rest during the day, just pull the blinds down on the windows, it'll be dark enough to sleep." She said. "That's bout the dumbest shit I've ever heard." Daryl scoffed, Isobel rounded on him. "If you don't like it, there's the door, you can always walk. If you want an idea where to go, you can start with _hell_." She said, her temper she inherited from her Irish-blooded father flared. Before anyone could blink, Isobel & Daryl had their hunting knives at each other's throats.

"Hey! Everyone just calm down!" Rick said as they came between them & grabbed hold of their wrists. Isobel jerked her hand out of his grasp & sheathed her knife. "I'm sick'o this shit, man! Sick of being a bitch to everyone we hitch a ride with! Don't our opinion count for nuthin'?!" Daryl raged, his hand still gripping his knife, Isobel retreated to reading a book, seemingly unfazed by alpha male standoff that was going on. She didn't give a fuck, if they didn't like it they could get the hell out. She wasn't about to change her routine, a routine which had been working quite well for the both of them for a bunch of people she didn't even know. "What are you reading?" A small voice roused her from her book. "Something you aren't old enough to read." She said with a smile.

"Try me." The boy smiled, Isobel gave him a strange look before smiling in spite of herself as she reached behind her. "But… given the current circumstances, I think that I have something you would like." She said as she handed him a stack of comics. "Thanks!" He said, his eyes as big as saucers. "Your welcome, say, what's your name?" "Carl." The boy replied, Isobel extended her hand, which the boy shifted his gifted stack of comics so he could receive her shake. "I'm Isobel, that's Solo, don't worry, he's not as fierce as he looks." She said, gesturing to the dog.

"Did you give my son comic books?" "Huh?" Isobel said as a tall, lean woman with a constantly stressed expression that made her look ten years beyond her true age said as she came to stand in front of Isobel, who sat in the driver's seat with her feet propped against the steering wheel, cleaning her arsenal of guns. "Yeah, so?" "Some of the ones that were in there…" She trailed off as she tossed the glossy books into Isobel's lap; _'Thirty Days of Night' __**(author's note to Steve Niles: just letting you know that I do NOT own this or any other comic I mention… just doing a little CMA… covering my ass O_o)**_Isobel laughed in spite of herself.

"I'm glad you find this _funny_, because I don't." The woman said. "I'm sorry & your name is…?" Isobel said curtly. "I'm Lori, Carl's _mother_." "Let me get this straight; even though dead people are getting up & _eating _the living, you're still worried about what kind of material your son is reading? Forgive me if I find that a little … funny." "Please don't give my son anything you don't run by me first." Lori said. "You can't protect him forever, you know. Sooner or later he's going to have to grow up." "Just … dont." Lori spat.

"It's my RV, I'll do what I want." Isobel said flatly as she swiveled back around in the seat to face the windshield, from the back of the RV sat Daryl in the dark, having noticed the exchange between the two women, he studied Isobel with the ghost of a smile on his face & he chuckled to himself, he liked this bitch's style.

"Hey!" Isobel hissed as she nudged Rick, who was asleep in the rumble seat, Solo was curled up behind Isobel's seat, everyone else was asleep also, not being able to get used to the backwards way she traveled. "Guh?" Rick snorted as he startled awake, reaching for his sidearm. "Take a gander at this." She said as she slowed the motorhome, a huge fortress loomed in front of them, its concrete form rising imposingly as they crested the hill. "It's your call, lawman. What do you want to do?"


	3. Chapter 3

**The Walking Dead: The Dead Files**

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & CLAIM nothing!**

_Author's notes: I have heard that Daryl's brother, Merle is going to make a comeback, so he will in my story as well._

"It's your call, Lawman." Isobel said.

Rick rubbed his hand over his face, he didn't know how he got so deep in this shit, & shouldering the responsibility of everyone's safety when he wasn't even sure he could keep his wife & kid safe was weighing heavy on him. He stood wordlessly & walked to the back of the RV, after a brief pause, he returned with the man named Daryl. "Look's like a prison." Daryl said. "What do you think?" Rick asked, Daryl looked at Isobel, who raised her hands. "It's your call, boys." "Too dark, lets wait til' mornin'." Daryl said gruffly.

Isobel buried her face in her book in an attempt to drown out the loud discussion that was taking place in the rear of the coach, she let out a huge sigh as Solo walked up to her, his hazel eyes reflecting her feelings exactly. "I know, I know." She said as she gave a dirty look over her shoulder. "… There's no other way, Lori! Unless you haven't noticed, our group is short on members as it is, _someone_ has to stay behind & protect those who don't know how to use a weapon!" Rick was saying, suddenly Isobel appeared between them, lugging the huge black bag, she plopped it on the floor in front of her & started passing out weapons.

"Okay… here's how it's going down; Rick & T dog will stay with the RV & the others. Glenn, & Daryl will come with me." Isobel said as she knelt down to Solo. "You gotta stay here, boy. These people need you. Trust that dog, he knows what he's doing. If something goes down, he'll let you know." She said in parting as they left.

"Why'd you pick me, I mean… Rick's a better shot then me." Glenn said. "Rick's got a family, wife n' kid to worry about." Isobel said without looking at him as they reached the entrance of the prison, weapons drawn. Glenn looked a little hurt at the thought of that being the only reason why he was chosen, though he tried to hide it, somehow, Isobel seemed to since his feelings. "Besides, Carl says that no one's better at getting in & out then you; so I decided to see how true that was." She said with a smile as she clapped him on the back. "Head's up." Daryl said quietly as they entered.

Even in daylight the place had a dark, dank ambiance about it, the air was clammy & musty, despite the Georgia heat. This place seemed to reflect the reality of their new world. Nobody spoke, their eyes & ears were peeled for any inkling of sight or sound as they crept up the stairs to the second floor, then they heard it; that telltale dragging gait & soft moaning. _'Shit.'_ Isobel thought as they ducked around a corner, no matter how many times she saw one or how many she killed, she _hated_ walkers. Deep down she had a phobia about them, like one would have about snakes or spiders. They stood huddled together in the dark like frightened rats as the walker passed them, feverishly hoping it wouldn't pick up on their scent.

Once it was safe, they crept forward & looked over the balcony to the mess hall below. "Aw… fiddle…" Isobel hissed as below them was a sea of walkers; it was practically standing room only, corpses of guards & inmates alike shuffled together shoulder to shoulder, such irony in this post-apocalyptic world. Isobel turned to Daryl to whisper that they should make a hasty exit, but Daryl's eyes were focused elsewhere, she followed his gaze & noticed that Glenn was looking at the same thing. "Hey… that looks like…" "Merle!" Daryl finished.

_Notes: Sorry this took so long, I have been feeling under the weather due to allergies these past few days & also have had a bout of writer's block as to where I was going to go with this story, but now I have a vision… hope you like it ^_^, also, thanks to all who added me to their faves, that really means a lot ^_^._


	4. Chapter 4

**The walking Dead: The dead Files**

**Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: I no own :/.**

"_Who?_" Isobel said, wishing they would keep their voices down. "Merle! That's my fucking brother, man!" Daryl said as Glenn pointed out a handless walker milling through the undead crowd. "Daryl…" Glenn started, his voice had a nervous twinge to it, the walkers in the mess hall below them were taking notice of them, their growls of realization echoing around the god forsaken prison as they made their way towards the stairs. "Son of a bitch!" Daryl said as he brought his fist down on the railing, he was so sure his brother had made it. "Daryl… you can't help him now … come on… _it's time to go!_" Glenn said desperately as he gripped his arm, Daryl jerked out of the Korean's grip, his expression deadly, there was a tense moment between the two men.

Suddenly, Daryl was forced to duck to avoid a swing from Isobel's twin machetes. A thud was heard & he looked to see the body of a walker crumpled on the ground, its head sliced in half like a melon. A smirk crossed the hunter's face & his blue eyes lit up for a split second. "I think its time we made our exit." Isobel said calmly.

"Oh… shit!" T Dog said as he caught sight of Daryl, Isobel & Glenn making a run for the RV, an army or walkers in hot pursuit. "Fire up this mother fucker, we're getting the hell out of here!" Isobel said as T Dog brought the RV to them & they all hopped in, before the motorhome could even come to a stop. "DRIVE!" Isobel yelled as she hung out of the door, revolver in hand, firing on the walkers that had managed to get ahold of the RV. Even under pressure, she didn't miss a single shot & soon they were zooming out of town as fast as the RV would go.

"You were _great_!" Carl said in awe, Isobel chuckled. "I reckon he's never seen a woman with that kind of shooting skill & its been quiet a long time since I have, too." Rick chuckled, Isobel blushed. "Well… before all this shit went down, I used to compete in shooting competitions & have even done a fair amount of mounted shooting with a pistol & rifle. Plus, it helps that they were pretty close." She said, trying to downplay it a little.

"Now where to?" T Dog said from the driver's seat. "There, but take I 20 east & go west on it, the highways leaving Atlanta are bound to be choked with cars." Isobel pointed to a sign marking the entrance to Interstate 20. "Where'll that take us?" Glenn asked. "Texas, I have to see if my family is okay." Isobel said.

After driving for a day or so straight, & crossing into what used to be Jackson, Mississippi , they were forced to make a stop for fuel. Isobel grabbed her silenced revolver, crowbar & siphoning hose & cautiously exited, careful not to slam the door. She crept to the underground tanks & quietly cracked the tops until she found the diesel. She stuck the hose into the tank & began the ritual of siphoning fuel, once the first tank was full, she flipped the switch to fill the other. Lucky for them, there wasn't too much of a demand for fuel these days & there wasn't too much competition.

A low growling sound drew Rick's attention, he turned to see Solo sitting in the rumble seat, looking out the windshield toward the surrounding woods. Daryl walked up & Rick silently nodded to the dog with his gun drawn, Daryl nodded silently as they watched, their adrenaline surging, fearing it was another herd of walkers. But it wasn't walkers… it was something much, much worse.

The RV was a nice thing to have, none of them were going to deny that, but it was a commodity… one that could just as easily be stolen, & right now a group of men were stalking out of the woods, rifles in hand planning to do just that, from their angle, they couldn't see Isobel, but she had already been alerted by Rick, who gave her a head's up from the window. The door was on the other side, she knew there was no way she could make it into the bus without being seen, so she quietly took the hose out of the tank, stashed it back into the cargo hold & crept around to the front fender.

She softly tapped on the window & when Rick appeared, she took the silencer off her pistol & drew a second, understanding what she was planning, Rick nodded. She took a deep breath & carefully aimed, the sound of the revolver was deafening against the silence, the group of men dived for cover, but not before five of their group fell where they walked, bullet holes straight through their heads.

"Damn, she's good." Daryl said to himself as Isobel barged into the bus, dodging the gunfire that ricocheted off the coach's metal body. "That outta keep them busy." She said as she clamored into the driver's seat, as they blasted onto the highway, they heard the telltale panicked screams of the marauders & gunfire erupting. "Don't take em' long anymore." Daryl said darkly. "I know, its like they're… _learning_." Glenn said, distant gunshots echoed through the wilderness. "Dumbasses, they're gonna draw every walker for miles." Daryl added. "Serves them right, people like that don't deserve to live, not even in a world like this." Maggie interjected.

Suddenly, they were all nearly taken off their feet by the RV weaving sharply to & fro. "What the hell, woman?! Don't you know how to drive?" Daryl yelled as he gripped the side of the couch he was thrown back on, Rick stumbled up to the front & his heart came to reside in his feet, Isobel was slumped over the bus's large steering wheel.


	5. Chapter 5

**The walking Dead: The Dead Files.**

**Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & CLAIM nothing!**

"I need some help up here!" Rick yelled frantically as he struggled to keep the RV as steady as he could while still holding onto Isobel's limp body, T Dog & Glenn rushed forward & pulled Isobel as gently as they could out of the driver's seat, Rick took her place & was able to steady the huge bus after a few near misses with the freeway guard wall.

"Bring her back here." Hershel said as he directed them to the large couch in the living area. "There's no time for anesthetic, Glenn, Daryl, you're going to have to hold her down, this bullet's got to come out or its going to work its way into her heart." He said as he cut open her shirt, revealing the bloody hole where the bullet went through about half an inch below her left collarbone. Maggie hurried forward with a tray of sterilized surgical tools. "Here we go." Hershel said as he began to dig for the bullet. "Sorry, girl; But it's gotta come out." Daryl said with surprising gentility as he gave Isobel a rag to bite on.

After what seemed like an eternity, there was a horrible sucking sound & out the bullet came free, they were shocked at the size of it. "Lord have mercy, that's big enough to take down a bull elk." Hershel said as he studied it before setting it down on the tray & beginning the process of cleaning the wound & stitching her up. "She's lucky it ricocheted off the RV's door instead of hitting her straight." Daryl said as Maggie gently slipped a pillow under Isobel's head & covered her.

"I see you're feeling better." Rick said as he awoke early the next morning to Isobel sitting up, reading a copy of Steve Niles _'Remains.'_ Solo at her feet. T Dog had taken over driving duties sometime during the night, Isobel smiled as she laid her book down. "Can't get rid of me that easily." She said in attempt at humor. "So, what's this ranch of yours like?" "Its an old cattle ranch, its pretty big, about five hundred acres with nothing in either direction so, as long as we don't draw attention to ourselves, we should be okay. Dad was an avid hunter so we'll have plenty of guns & ammo if we need it, but I'd prefer not to use anything loud unless we have to, you know how those sons of bitches gravitate to sound." She said "What of your parents?" Rick asked carefully, Isobel's blue eyes darkened as she averted her eyes. "I don't know." She replied.

"Oh… _snap_!" Glenn said excitedly as they all peered out the windows at the massive Wal-Mart in the middle of a small town somewhere in Louisiana. "Bet the local businesses hated this place, it looks pretty new. Well, we need supplies, so lets get this over with." She said as she made to gather her weapons. "Whoa, where do you think you're goin'?" Rick asked. "…To get supplies…" Isobel trailed off. "No your not, not in your condition, the smell of blood coming off you would be like ringing the dinner bell for those son of a bitches, let Daryl, Glenn & me go, you & T Dog can stay here & guard the RV." Rick said, Isobel have him a dejected expression, but didn't protest.

"Can you pry them open?" Glenn said to Daryl & rick. "Ain't nothin' a crowbar can't handle." Daryl grunted as he stuck the tool between the doors & began to wrench both sets of them open, slowly, just enough for the three of them to slip inside, before closing them behind them. "Holy shit… look at this place!" Glenn said, the store was completely untouched; displays were as their worker's left them, food was molding & rotting on the shelves, still in the same arrangement. "Some Wally world's ain't open twenty-four hours. This one prolly didn't get a chance to open before all this shit went down." Daryl said as they split up, Glenn headed to the food department, Daryl headed to the outdoor section to stock up on guns & ammo & Rick headed to the pharmacy.

Glenn stuffed as many nonperishables as he could into his duffel bag & slung it over his shoulder, a telltale sound of a shuffling gait alerted him & he readied his bat, sure enough, in the cereal aisle was a lone female walker, Glenn shuck up behind it & dispatched it with a few good cracks. The walker had a Wal-Mart apron on & Glenn concluded that if they were going to run into walkers, then they would probably be the people who once worked here.

Rick encountered a similar scenario behind the desk of the pharmacy, he instantly began rummaging through the meds, taking anything that he thought might be useful, having found all he could use of the prescriptions, he moved to the OTC meds. His walkie suddenly went off, causing him to jump out of his skin in the quiet of the deserted Wal-Mart. "Rick… you guys better hurry the fuck up, a herd's comin'." Isobel's voice hissed over the line.


	6. Chapter 6

The Walking Dead: The Dead Files

**Chapter 6**

**Disclaimer: No own, No claim :/**

_AN: Thanks for all you guys who faved me & reviewed & liked it! when I posted this story, it being my first WD story (tho I have been a fan since the show first aired) I was scared it would suck, I'm glad so many of you think it doesn't ^_^. Sorry i havent uptated in a while, I have had no initutive to work on this lately for some reason... partly because if laziness i guess LOL._

Rick didn't have to tell Glenn or Daryl, they heard the message as well & they met him at the doors. "Oh… _shit_…"Glenn said, unable to keep the tremble out of his voice as they saw them, a huge herd of Walkers coming out of the underbrush around the Wal-Mart.

"Come on, we've gotta go… NOW!" Isobel said as she jumped into the driver's seat & fired up the RV's diesel engine, slammed the gearshift into drive & made as quick a turn as a coach could make. "Hey! What the fuck are you doing! My husband is in there!" Lori said as she, thinking Isobel was bailing for the exit leapt forward & grabbed hold of the steering wheel. "Get off, woman!" Isobel yelled as a struggle ensued, finally ending with Isobel shoving Lori back with enough force that she lost her footing & fell back onto her ass. Isobel turned the big RV around & pulled up to the door, just as Rick, Glenn & Daryl exited.

"Whew, that was _close_!" T Dog said as they sped away, mowing down half a dozen walkers in the process, their coagulated blood spattering the windshield. "It's only going to get worse as they become more numerous & we become fewer." Isobel said as they pulled back onto the road, after they had gotten out of danger, Rick took the wheel, as Isobel passed Lori on her way to the back for a nap she turned & looked her dead straight in the eye.

"I don't know what kind of person you think I am… thinkin' I would leave someone behind to those monsters. But one more outburst like that & we're going to have problems… _big problems_." She said, her voice low & dangerous as she drew her machete & placed the cold steel blade flat against Lori's cheek. A tense moment passed before she finally sheathed it. "You're lucky you have a kid, lady." She said as she pushed past her, from his spot on the couch, Daryl couldn't stop himself from smiling, he definitely liked this girl's style.

"Take ten, that'll take us on the outskirts of Houston, maybe we can avoid a jam up of cars if we stay out of the inner city. Isobel said from her spot in the rumble seat to Daryl, who was now driving. "Lori, she don't like you much." Isobel shrugged, her head still buried in the interstate map. "If I had a dollar for every person who didn't like me, I'd be rich… course it don't matter much in this hell hole, does it?" "What're we gonna do in Texas?" Isobel shrugged. "Stay at the ranch for a while & regroup I reckon. It's pretty remote, shouldn't be many of them things around. It has a wind powered generator so we should have power & it has a good sized well so water shouldnt be a problem either." She said. "I hope… I hope we find your folks." He said awkwardly, she smiled sadly. "So do I."

They stopped for diesel at what used to be a Shell station just passed Houston. "This should get us most of the way to the ranch." She said as she tossed the hose back in the cargo hold under the bus & they were off once again.

"Well… here we are." Isobel said as the bus shuffled up the long, winding gravel road. Everyone moved to the front of the coach, the road went on for what seemed like an eternity until a simple looking farm house lulled into view, it looked like the apocalypse never happened here, the house was in excellent condition. Next to it a turbine was cheerfully turning in the west Texas dessert breeze. Isobel pulled her silenced colt & exited the RV, her heart pounding against her chest, unsure of what she was going to find, she took a deep breath & pulled open the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Walking Dead: The Dead Files**

**Chapter 7**

**Disclaimer : no own no claim**

The door made a small squeak as she opened it, a deafening sound against the ranch's quiet environment, seeming to be made even quieter by the infection's effect on the human population. "Mom? Dad?" Isobel called nervously, her heart racing so fast that she couldn't even decipher the individual beats.

Her heart almost burst with relief when her parents, very much alive came around the corner, they all shared a joyous hug as a tall, handsome, sandy-haired man about her age joined them.

"Chase?! Oh my god!" She said as she embraced him as well as the other survivors joined them. "I'm sorry." She said as she introduced everyone. "Its nice to see someone alive after all that's happened. My name is Mike, I' am Isobel's father, this is her mother, Esther & this is Chase, he's a neighbor of ours. You are welcomed to stay as long as you want. We have guest cabins out back, Isobel can settle you in." Mike said.

"I'm afraid that we only have four cabins, so some of you are going to have to stay together, I'm assuming that the two families will want to stick together so T dog & Glenn, do you mind rooming?" Isobel asked, they shrugged & shook their heads nonchalantly as they looked at one another. "Carol can stay in the main house with us if she'd like." Isobel said with a kind smile, Carol smiled back "That's mighty nice of you." "Don't mention it." Isobel replied.

"I'll take the last cabin." Daryl interjected rudely as he heaved his crossbow over his shoulder. "Alone?" Isobel asked his retreating form but he got no answer, Glenn shrugged apologetically at her when he disappeared into the cabin without so much as an answer. "Not much of a conversationalist." Glenn said. "Don't worry, I know I don't look like it, but I've been around the block a few times… licked my share of peanut butter, you know? I know his kind." She said with a small smile. "Here" She said as she gave each of them a walkie. "If anything happens, radio me, I'll be on channel twenty two." She said as she handed Glenn two radios. "Make sure you give one to your surly friend." She said with a wink.

Rick awoke with a start from his spot on the couch, he had let Lori & Carl have the bed, not that Lori had wanted him there anyway, things had been awkward between them since the incident with Shane. He didn't know which Lori was angrier at him for, him killing Shane or him putting Carl in a situation where he had to shoot his own god father. He had tried to move past their issues but he just couldn't & he felt that sadly, their marriage was dissolving, but he also knew there were problems way before all of this happened. Suddenly his walkie squawked, startling him out of his thoughts. "Breakfast." Isobel's voice came over the line.

Everyone ate in silence, it wasn't an awkward silence, it was just that no one had anything to say. "I still can't believe you made it all the way from California, Isa." Chase said, his hazel eyes fixed on her, she shrugged. "You know me, I'm a survivor." "Yes… you are." He said, a small flirtatious smile playing on his rugged handsome face. Daryl ground his teeth as he gripped his napkin under the table until his hand ached, he suddenly realized what he was doing & released his napkin & averted his eyes from the disgusting scene hoping no one had noticed. He has never been good at hiding his emotions.

Isobel walked out of the shower feeling more human then she could remember in a long time. She was dressed in a pair of her favorite loose fitting well-worn jeans & a plain white T shirt. She stepped out onto the porch in the cool of the dessert evening & lit a cigarette, Solo at her side. "You know, that's going to kill you one day." A voice came from the shadows, she spooked slightly. "Chase? You're going to give a girl a heart attack." She said, he smiled as she sat in the old rocker across from him. "So I have been told." "Isa what happened to us?" Chase said as he leaned forward on the bench, his hazel eyes piercing hers. "Chase, there was no 'us' we ran in different circles, remember? Plus you know what I wanted & you weren't ready to give that to me." He placed his hand on hers. "I am now." He said.

From his perch on the balcony of his cabin Daryl sat in the darkness, stewing, watching this whole, sickening scene. He suddenly felt the urge to wretch for some reason, but at risk of being heard in the quiet of the dessert night, he managed to suppress it. He couldn't make sense of his feelings for the first time since he could remember. He was always a man of action & he never bothered too much about anyone else except his brother, but then then he didn't worry too much, Merle could take care of himself, & even if he couldn't he wouldn't have wanted sympathy anyway, not even from his own brother.

After their mother had died & their father had been arrested for possession… again, it was Merle who had taken Daryl in, not that he was much better a guardian then their father, being a drug & alcohol abuser himself, as soon as Daryl was old enough, he struck out on his own & that's the way he had been ever since they only met up again after all this shit went down but that was only because two sets of eyes were better than one.

Isobel removed her hand from under his, her expression turning serious. "Sure, your ready, now that the world's gone to shit & all your little concubines are either dead or walking around somewhere in between." She said coolly, she momentarily regretted her statement as he looked away, a genuine expression of hurt on hiss handsome face. "Look… I know this is like… a guy's nightmare to hear, but I have to do what's best for ME. I do like you, Chase, but it wouldn't be far to either of us if we began a relationship, but we can still be friends, I'm sorry but that's the best I can offer right now." She said, he managed a smile. "I'll take what I can get."


	8. Chapter 8

**The walking Dead: The Dead Files**

**Chapter 8**

**Disclaimer: I don't own.**

"Isobel, are you sure you want to do this?" "Mom, there is no choice, canned goods ain't going to cut it with all these people, we need meat & the only way to get that is to go hunting." She replied as she hugged her mother warmly. "Esther, she'll be fine, we taught her well, besides she'll have company, someone to watch her back." Her father said as he put a hand on her mother's shoulder. "The first lesson you ever taught me…" "...Never go into the woods alone." They said in unison.

"Listen, thanks for coming with me, for a while there I was thinking you didn't like me or something." Isobel said. "It ain't that." "Then what is it?" She quipped. "Are ya always this nosy?" He asked, annoyingly without turning to face her as they stalked through the thorny mesquite-filled thickets, Solo just ahead of them, trying to catch a scent. "What's around here anyway?" "Rabbit mostly, but every once & a while we come across…" she didn't get to finish because a sudden disturbance interrupted her, without a moment's hesitation, she took off at a run past Daryl before he could even react.

"Hey! Where ya goin!" He yelled as he tried to keep her in sight amongst the thick undergrowth. "Isobel!" He bellowed as he heard her holler his name, he burst through to a clearing beside a small stock tank & was shocked to find her wrestling with a feral hog. "Grab the legs so I can get Solo off! I need to shut this thing up before he draws every walker in the county!" she said as he took hold of the hogs back legs she pried Solo's jaws off the pig's snout. "Solo off, that's enough!" She told him & he backed off, though still ready to aid her if she needed it, dark blood stained his chest & muzzle. she grabbed Daryl's crossbow & put an arrow right through the boar's eye. "Come on, lets get the hell out of her before any geeks show up." She said

"Need some help?" Carol said, Isobel smiled warmly "Sure." "Everyone really appreciates you lettin' us stay here & all." Carol said as they finished skinning & gutting the hog. "Keep the organs, & scrap bones, I feed them to solo." She said, pausing before the continued. "I was always raised that if someone needed help, you helped them; that kind of mentality's getting harder to come by since the world went to shit." She said as she bagged the meat.

"How'd you survive so long on your own?" "Being smart I guess, I have my dad to thank, he taught me everything I know about survival." Carol smiled sadly. "Sophia would've liked you." Isobel couldn't help but wonder who Sophia was, but she said nothing, & Carol continued. "She… she was… killed… by those… things. My husband too." Carol said, tears welling up in her eyes but Isobel's intuition told her they weren't for her husband. "I carry on, because I think it's what Sophia would have wanted."

"Daryl worked so hard to find her, probably the hardest. I think he upset him the most when we learned she was…" Carol trailed off, unable to say the word _'dead'_ & Isobel's heart sank as she read between the lines of her expression. "I'm sorry, Carol, I can't imagine how hard that must've been." "That's why I try to keep myself busy, that way I don't have too much time to think about it." She replied.

"Fresh pork stew." Isobel said as she plopped a steaming bowl in front of everyone. "Look's great, darlin'." Chase said with a wink in her direction, Daryl didn't realize the holes he was burning into Chase's head until he noticed Carol eyeing him with a knowing glint in her eye, he quickly focused on his bowl of stew for the rest of the night.

He was frustrated with himself, he couldn't make heads or tails of these feelings that came over him every time he was near Isobel. It wasn't like like she led him on or anything, quite the opposite in fact it would seem that she made every effort to avoid him on most occasions. But that could also be the vibe he was putting out, _'Would it hurt you to be nice once & a while?'_ A little voice in his head nagged him, naw, he had been nice & look what it got him, he couldn't even make good on his promise he had made to find Sophia. after that day had had vowed not to do that to another person, even if that meant alienating himself.

Perhaps that was the allure, he thought to himself later that evening as he patrolled the borders of the property... wanting what he couldn't have, like a trophy buck. A guy could spend weeks freezing his nads off in a deer blind & have nothing to show for it, but that one chance of that one trophy buck wondering by... THATS what spurred him on. Perhaps that was the core of it, she was in a way a trophy to him & Chase was a rival hunter.

But what was he kidding... what would she ever see in him? Half the time he didn't even know how to talk to her & it frustrated him which, much to his distain surfaced as irritation, often directed unintentionally at Isobel. He couldn't say he had many relationships with women, always being phased out by men like Chase. Perhaps that was why he hated Chase so much, though he wouldnt admit it to anyone but himself.

He was so deep in thought, he hadn't noticed that something was watching _him_ & he was suddenly knocked off his feet by something large & heavy. Fearing it was a walker, he desperately grasped for his hunting knife but he realized that it was something much, worse. Instincts from years in the wilderness told him that he was in deep shit as he stared into the angry eyes of a feral sow & by the looks of her, she had piglets, probably held up in a burrow nearby. "Shit!" He hissed under his breath as he tried to reach for his crossbow.

The sow must have sensed this she charged him again & sunk her teeth into his forearm, he let out a growl of pain & was forced to drop his crossbow. All of the sudden, the sow fell over dead, an arrow straight through her ears. Another, probably an older sibling charged but was intercepted by Solo who sent him packing. Daryl suddenly felt himself being heaved to his feet. "Come on… walk! There could be more of em' out here. Plus your bleeding, if we don't hurry you'll bring every walker for miles." Isobel hissed as she draped his arm around her slender shoulders & half ass drug him back to the house.

"I don't know what in the hell you were thinking, but you don't want to be going out on your own out here. Walkers aren't the only danger, you know." She said as she & Hershel cleaned & dressed his wound. "I'm impressed, Isobel, I have to say." Hershel said, & Isobel blushed. "I was an EMT before all this shit went down." She said awkwardly. "Are you done?" Daryl said rudely. "Yes." Hershel said; Daryl stood up & walked out without a word to anyone. "Now you'll have to report back to me daily for bandage changes, we don't want to have to fight an infection." Hershel called after him.

"He sometimes does that, it's not unusual for him to disappear for days on end on a hunt." Rick said when Isobel inquired about Daryl's whereabouts over breakfast a couple of days later. "Well, when you see him, please send him my way or let me know, he will need to have that wound sterilized & looked at." Isobel said. When a week had gone by with no sign of Daryl, she became worried, she went to his cabin & knocked but got no answer & though she didn't like to do this, she used her master key & entered. "Oh…!" she trailed off at the scene before her, a horrified expression washing over her beautiful face.

_Author's Note: I know I'm terrible ain't I ;). I'm actually glad that so many people like this, I wasn't that confident about it when I first started out & I know the first few chapters fledged. But at least to me it now seems to be flowing nicely. Keep favoring & reviewing, thanks you guys ^_^. _


	9. Chapter 9

**The walking Dead: The dead Files**

**Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer: I no own :/**

"_Oh…!" she trailed off at the scene before her, a horrified expression washing over her beautiful face._

There lay Daryl in bed, sweating, shaking & in a very bad way, his body was riddled with infection from the bite he received from the hog. She knew this could happen, hogs were notoriously filthy & she kicked herself for not being more diligent about Daryl's care, making doubly sure he got that wound cleaned every day. But she had been afraid to approach him due to his surliness & she felt horrible for it. The smell of infection was thick in the air as she opened a window. "Oh… Daryl." She whispered, feeling his forehead as she fumbled for her radio.

"Go for Glenn." She said into it, after a moment, Glenn answered. "I need you to look bedside dresser in the RV for the stash of prescription antibiotics I have there, have them ready, I'll be there in a few minutes to pick them up."

"Here they are, but… what's going on?" "Never mind that, can you get Hershel?" She asked as she hurried back towards the cabins. "God almighty." Hershel said as he examined the wound. "Isobel I don't know if we can…" "We have to, Hershel, we have to try. That's his shooting arm for Christ sake." Hershel gave her a pained look, but nodded. "get some clean wash cloths & boil some hot water." Hershel said as he set down his bag & pulled out fresh bandages, a bottle of iodine & small unlabeled tub filled with a gelatinous clear gel. "Aloe?" She quipped, a smirk playing about her mouth. "Best stuff in the world." He replied.

Both her & Hershel worked through the night, but they managed to get Daryl's wound stripped of the infected tissue & redressed, he was still unconscious & under the effects of the drugs Isobel had given him. "It's probably a good thing he was out of it for the wound cleaning, had he been awake, we would have needed three people to hold him down. I can't stitch it up until all the infection is gone, but through scrubbing we got most of it." Hershel said as he rubbed his face tiredly, Isobel put a hand on his shoulder. "Go & rest, I got it from here, Doc." She said with a smile, the old man gave her shoulder a squeeze as he departed, with a sigh, Isobel pulled up a chair next to his bed, it was going to be a long night.

Early that morning, Daryl sat bolt upright in bed, delirious from the fever & the drugs he was on. "Whoa, whoa, there Daniel Boone! You've had quite a night, better lay back." "Don't… tell me what ta do!" He growled as he tried to shove her arm off him. "Alright mister… I've had about enough of this attitude from you! I don't know what your problem is, if its me or what but right now I am the one charged with your care & you are going to lie BACK!" She said as she pushed him back onto the bed, he blew out an exasperated sigh as he let himself settle back against the soft bed.

"Look, after you get well you can go back to doing whatever you want & I won't bother you… I'll stay out of your way… unless you keep doing stupid shit to get yourself hurt, that is." She said with a wink, Daryl rolled his eyes angrily, but he couldn't hide the blush that crept its way up his cheeks, Isobel noticed but she didn't let on, she didn't want to embarrass him.

Well, this looks great, doesn't even need a stitching, it was a good thing you were out for the initial cleaning though, that's what helped this. _'That & you.'_ Daryl found himself thinking as he got lost in her aquamarine eyes for a moment, he mentally slapped himself for sounding like a lovesick schoolboy as he quickly averted his gaze. "Thanks." He said gruffly.

"Here." She said as she gave him a bottle of pills. "Take one with a meal twice a day til they're gone, & I mean it… unless you want to be back to square one again. I cant make you take them & I am not going to nag you, it's up to you." She said as she walked out. Daryl sighed & continued to look at the door long after she had exited through it, deep in thought.

His heart had screamed for him to stop her, to thank her, but he wanted to do much… MUCH more than that. Deep inside part of him ached to kiss her, to hold her; it was the same part of him that tortured him with sultry dreams of her almost every night. But who was he kidding, she would never go for the likes of him & was no fool, he saw the way that bastard Chase looked at her.

Little did he know he was about to find out just how wrong he was.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Walking Dead: The Dead Files**

**Chapter 10**

**Disclaimer: I don't own & I don't claim!**

"Whew! I think that's the rest of it, that way it'll last a good year or so, the wind's been dead calm lately, not enough to keep the turbine running the generator." Esther said as she & Isobel finished jarring what was left of the feral hog. "That was a nice hog you got, baby." Mike said as he hugged her. "Say dad, could I borrow your bike? I need to go into town for some things; we are running low on hygiene items & certain lady things." She said, her mother nodded in understanding as Mike threw her the keys. "remember, be sure to take someone with you, Isobel smiled. "I know just the guy."

"Me?!" Glenn squeaked. "Yeah, rumor has it you're the best at getting in & out of places, so it sounds like the natural thing to choose you, here." She said as she threw him a back pack as she slipped a second one on. "Well, what are you waiting for, get on!" she said impatiently. "Look, kid I don't bite, ok? & if your scared of your little girlfriend getting jealous, don't worry, I already talked with her, she's cool with it." She said, Glenn hesitantly slid on behind her. "Just remember to keep those hands south of the mountains & north of the valley." She said over the drone of the engine as they sped away.

"Hey." Carol said to Daryl as she joined him on the porch, he nodded wordlessly to her, his eyes not leaving the road, she smiled, she knew he was watching for Isobel's return. "You're worried about her." He turned sharply & looked at her.

"No one said anything; it's plain as the nose on your face." Carol said as she sipped her tea. "You like her, don't you?" she said with a smile. _'LIKE her… more like falling hard for her.'_ that little voice nagged him again, but outwardly, he just shrugged. "Look, just be nice to the girl, momma used to say you can catch more flies with honey then with vinegar. Not all things will end up like… like Sophia." She said sadly, an expression of deep thought washed over Daryl as he turned once more to stare out at the road.

"I'm kind of glad you came, I always hate when I have to pick those… things up." Glenn said as Isobel emptied as many boxes of tampons in her bag as she could, Glenn made himself in charge of picking up the general hygiene items they needed. Suddenly they both froze & exchanged looks, they both heard the approaching drone of a vehicle. "Help me get the bike inside." She hissed, they wheeled it inside the small store & toppled one of the shelves in front of the door to make it look like it had been picked clean & dropped to their stomachs behind the cashier's counter just as a huge, jacked up chevy truck careened around the corner.

Daryl stamped out the butt from his cigarette as he paced the length of his porch like a caged tiger, he had quit smoking before all this shit happened but the end of the world had caused the habit to resurface. Damn it! it was nearly dark, something had happened to them, he was sure of it, they should have been back by now, he should have gone with her, he could have protected her. He brought his fist down onto the railing, earning him a shooting pain up his still healing arm. "You'd better bring her back soon, China man." He said under his breath.

"We have to make a plan." Isobel said, she kept her voice barely audible as they stole a glance outside, the small town was crawling with walkers, drawn here by the horrible backfiring sound the Chevy made when it peeled out of there a few hours ago, she assumed they had learned that anything that sounded like a gunshot equaled food & they had come in droves. "We're not getting out of her, are we?" Glenn said, his voice trembling, she put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We will, we might have to spend the night though, I'll take first watch, you get some sleep, at midnight, we'll switch." He nodded as he tried to get some rest.

"Isobel & Glenn didn't come back last night." Andrea said over breakfast, Rick nearly choked on his eggs. "Wha… what did you say?" She didn't repeat herself, she remained silent as she held Rick's gaze. "Why didn't you inform me of this last night?" Andrea didn't reply, the table fell silent, Daryl merely stared at the plate of food he was suddenly no longer hungry for, a horrible feeling of dread welling up in the pit of his stomach. "Well we can't just sit here, someone has to go & help them! Glenn could be hurt or…" Maggie trailed off as Beth put her arm around her shoulders. "I'll go, I can take the bike, I can be outta there quick." Daryl said.

"Damn it, there is still too many, we need a diversion, listen, I have a flare gun, if I can sneak onto the roof I can fire it off into the brush & that might give us a chance." Glenn shook his head. "It won't work, even if you could get up there, they would see us before you could get back down." Isobel cursed under her breath, she knew he was right. "You got a better idea?" Glenn opened his mouth to reply when suddenly the roar of another engine could be heard, fast approaching.

"What is this Grand Fucking Central station?" Isobel said frustratingly, but her heart did a small leap of relief when she saw that it was Daryl, with a collective grunt, the walkers turned their attention towards the new chance for a meal. "Now's our chance, hang on, this could get rough." Isobel said as they put their helmets on.

She fired up the bike & crashed it through the window before the walkers had a chance to turn around. "Fancy meeting you here." She said as Daryl pulled beside her. "Can't go anywhere without me, can ya." He said, she was about to retort when she noticed a ghost of a smirk on his face, she flashed him a smile. "ran into trouble, tell you about it later, right now, I suggest we get the fuck outta here before we become walker chow." She said as they throttled their bikes & took out of there together.

"Glenn!" Maggie cried as she ran to him & embraced him. "Thank you, for bringing him back." She said to Isobel. "Don't thank me, Daryl's the one who saved our asses. I owe you one, man." She said as she smiled at him. "What happened?" Rick asked. "Others showed up, they were driving a huge jacked up older model Chevy, loud sumbitch, it backfired on their way outta town, brought every walker for miles. They swarmed the place before we could escape." She said as she handed her stash of feminine toiletries to Carol "Did you know them?" Rick asked. "Never seen em' before, probably just plunderers passing through." She said.

"Listen, thanks for saving my ass back there." Isobel said as she joined Daryl on the porch after dinner. "Yeah, well I can't be saving your skinny ass all the time, which is why next time I'm goin' wit' ya." He said, she turned to look at him, his expression was different, there was something there what wasn't there before, was it concern? She couldn't be sure." "I'd be honored, Daniel Boone." She said with a teasing smile, causing a blush to creep up his cheeks as he quickly averted his gaze. "I'm going to turn in… long day you know." He said quickly as he made to leave, her hand on his froze him in his tracks. He turned to face her smiling face. "Thanks again, for what you did. I really do appreciate it." "It was nothin'." he said as he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.


	11. Chapter 11

**The walking dead: the dead files**

**Chapter 11**

**Disclaimer: I no own**

"I'm not involved with Chase." Isobel said abruptly, Daryl choked on the swig of water he had just taken as they set out to patrol the borders of the property for walkers & other intruders, after what she had seen yesterday, the town wasn't but ten minutes from their ranch, she wanted to make sure none of them found their way here. "Me & Chase, we're not together, if that's what you've been thinking, I have no interest in him. We were… at one time, but he wasn't good for me, let's just leave it at that." She said, Daryl didn't know what to say to that, so he remained silent, inside though he was jumping for joy, he dared to entertain the thought that he just might have a chance with her. He was roused from his thoughts by Solo's soft growls.

Isobel gestured with her head forward & he nodded as the three of them crept forward as a unit. They approached the small clearing where they had found the hog & saw a small group of people, all men talking & joking around a camp fire without a second thought, Isobel snuck through the thicket & placed the barrel of her shotgun against the back of the nearest man's head.

"Move & I'll blow your brains out." She said, the man put his hands up where she could see them. "Wha…what did we do?" "I recognize you three, you were in town yesterday, that fucking truck of yours attracted a hoard of walkers, just like that fire of yours is going to do." She said as Daryl kicked it down to embers. "Hey…!" One of the men said, Isobel cocked the her shotgun. "This is a twelve gage, you have any idea what a twelve gage'll do to your brain? It'll splatter it all over your friends here, or I just could blow your knee out, the sound'll attract walkers for miles, you won't have a chance." She said as her finger squeezed the trigger.

Daryl was surprised at her ruthlessness, under her polite exterior, she was much like him, cold, calculating & untrusting. "No… please! Our truck broke down, we blew a tire out & I didn't have a spare, we've been on foot ever since, we've run out of food, we had to leave the rest when our last camp was overrun with walkers a while back!" He pleaded, without taking her eyes off the man she had at gun point, Isobel found her radio. "Rick, I need you out here." She said.

After Rick heard the story they had told her, He sat in thought for a moment, then suddenly, they heard a noise off to their left, Isobel looked down at Solo, the dog nervously licked his lips. Isobel looked to Daryl & mouthed _'walkers'_. "If you got weapons, you'd better grab em'." Daryl hissed as the six of them backed out of the clearing into the thick brush. It was a small herd, not too big that the six of them couldn't take out. The three men nervously grabbed their axes & machetes, Isobel fired off arrows from her bow in rapid succession, taking out three of them, Daryl took out the other four.

"Thanks for the help." Isobel said sarcastically as the three men stood, trembling in a semicircle with their backs to one another, holding their weapons in trembling hands as she & Daryl retrieved their arrows, suddenly, a walker appeared right in front of her, too close for her to ready her bow, he was suddenly pitching forward, one of Daryl's arrows protruding out of its eye. She beamed at him & his heart melted in spite of himself. "There, your coast is clear, get going, you can't stay here, this is my land & you're walker bait asses are going to bring those sumbitches for miles." Isobel said.

"You can't send us out there! We don't know anything about what to do, we'll die!" One of them pleaded, Isobel shrugged, "Not my problem." "Isobel said coldly, Rick put a hand on her shoulder. "These guys need us more then we need them, Isobel." "So? In case you've forgot, they almost got me killed!" She said. "You didn't know us when we stumbled out of the woods that day, but you helped us, how's this any different." Rick could tell it was something more fueling her distain for these men then she was letting on. "Isobel, is there something you're not telling us?" Rick rounded, hands on his hips.

Isobel blew out a huge sigh. "Yes… I know these men, one of them was my sister's boyfriend… or so I thought. When all this shit went down, we were trapped in California amidst the chaos, we got overrun by walkers, I was out of ammo, my sister had a bum knee, old track injury… a bum KNEE, Ted!" She said as she butted the shortest of the three men in the face with her shotgun, there was a dull crack as his nose broke.

"She… she fell, the walkers were too close, I couldn't keep them off her & Ted? Ted just ran… he ran!" She said as she made to butt him again, Daryl caught the snout of her shotgun. "I screamed after him to help me, as the walkers tore my sister apart, more started after me, I had to run." She finished as tears ran down her face. "Even if I wanted to, my folks never would let him in the house. Sorry guys, but you've gotta be on your way, here." She said as she tossed them the bag she had full of food & supplies. "It's the best I can do, I'm sorry."

"Oh you'll be sorry alright." One of them said, Daryl was on him in an instant. "That a threat?" He said menacingly. "Daryl, let him go." Rick said as he put a hand on Daryl's arm, Daryl pushed the man back & jerked out of Rick's grasp. "Like I said, best be on your way." Isobel said as she raised her shotgun. "Don't mistake my generosity for weakness, boys. If I see you on my land again, I'll kill ya." She said coldly.


	12. Chapter 12

**The walking dead: the dead files**

**Chapter 12**

**Disclaimer: Don't own**

"Hey, heard you ran into Ted & his boys back there." Chase said as he joined her that night on the porch of the main house, he offered her a cup of tea & she accepted, taking a moment to breathe in its sweet comfort before taking a deep sip. "No good bastard, I ran him off, folks wouldn't want him around anyway. Not after what he did." She said as she put a hand to her forehead, a sudden feeling of dizziness came over her, perhaps from the stress of the day. "You feelin' alright?" Chase asked but suddenly rushed forward to catch her as she pitched forward.

Isobel slipped in & out of consciousness , vaguely aware of what was happening, images came in & out of focus, Chase's face, the ghost of his voice, telling her to relax & it was going to be okay, she felt her top being removed, why was someone removing her top? Then nothing as she slipped into total unconsciousness.

Unable to sleep, Daryl walked out onto his porch, he had always enjoyed the silence of a rural night, nothing but the fireflies & the crickets. He tried to make since of his feelings, he didn't know what to do, he had never felt anything like this for a woman before. His mother had died when he was very young, his father wasn't around & Merle wasn't much of a paternal figure. He had never thought of anyone besides Merle & himself… not until now.

He gritted his teeth, that bitch… how dare she! With her tall, lean figure, long in the leg & torso just the way he liked them, her waist length wavy brown hair & those eyes… they were like nothing he had ever seen, even in Merle's girly magazines. He wasn't a saint by any means, he'd had his share of tail, but none of them could even be considered in the same class as Isobel, she was a redneck woman but she was by no means a half class broad. Oh if his brother could see him now, he'd call him a pussy. He chuckled to himself.

He was roused from his thoughts by a sound just beyond the reach of his porch light, he grabbed his crossbow & eased down the steps, careful not to make them creak. He moved slowly towards the source of the sound, thinking it was a walker, he peered around one of the old elms in the yard he saw it. Chase was rounding second base with someone, he couldn't see her face, Chase was in the way, planting slobbery kisses on her face & neck He was about to turn & leave him to it when he sat up to unbuckle his belt & jeans. A volcano of pure rage like none Daryl had ever felt before erupted & the next thing he knew, people were shouting & Rick was pulling him off a very bloody & badly beaten Chase, who had lost consciousness long ago under Daryl's hammer fists.

"Daryl! Simmer down!" Rick said as he struggled to hold a raging Daryl on his own, T dog rushed forward & took hold of one arm, Rick grabbed hold of the other, Daryl fought & bucked against them like a wild animal. "Tha…that son of a… he was gonna…! Gave er'… somethin' … she's … LOOK AT ER'!" He bellowed as Hershel stepped forward & examined her pupils with a small flashlight. "She's definitely been given something." He turned to a shocked Mike & Esther.

"You wouldn't by any chance have any horse tranquilizers around, would you?" "Yes… we have Acepromazine & ketamine I believe, you don't think he gave some of that to her… do you?" Esther said as Rick & T Dog allowed Daryl to wrench himself from their grasp, he ripped his jacket off, wrapped it around Isobel's half naked body & gently scooped her into his arms; careful to cradle her head against his shoulder. "Bring her in the house, Daryl, we'll see if we can rouse her." Hershel said. "What about him?" T Dog said to Rick. "Leave him where he is, bastard doesn't deserve any treatment.

"She's coming out of it, but she'll be out of it for a few hours. Why you don't go home & get some rest, son? There's nothing more you can do here." Daryl paused a moment before he wordlessly rose. "Hey." He turned quickly to see Mike, Isobel's father standing before him, he held out his hand, which Daryl reluctantly took. "Thank you, for what you did for my daughter." "Ain't nuthin'." He said, embarrassed. "It was something… it was something to us, her sister was killed back in California when this all started, she's all we have left, I don't know what I would do if…" Esther trailed off as Mike put his arm around her & led her away, Daryl took this opportunity to make his exit, he had had enough of being the hero for one night.

Daryl decided not to go to breakfast the next morning, he didn't want to be bombarded with the barrage of questions he knew was going to come from the others, he didn't want to think about what happened last night… what could have happened if he hadn't walked outside when he did. He was startled from his thoughts by a soft knocking on his door, he sighed, if that was Rick he was going to punch him in the face.

His heart skipped a couple of beats when he came face to face with Isobel. She was wearing a flowing white ankle length skirt with a snug baby blue tank that showed off her tattoos perfectly. He studied her outfit, he was no expert on clothes by a long shot, but to him it didn't look like something she wore often… did she wear it for _him_? "Hey, can I come in?" He wordlessly stepped aside & motioned her in. "I noticed you weren't at breakfast, so I brought you some grub." She said as she set the plate full of food on his night stand. "They told me what Chase did…" "He didn't…?" Daryl started, rage welling in him again, he had the urge to beat that man senseless.

"No, he didn't… thanks to you. I don't usually believe in these things, but I do think I have a guardian angel watching over me." She said as she took a step closer than one would typically stand in casual conversation, he couldn't help but breathe in the intoxicating scent of lavender that waived off the breeze she created when she stepped close to him.

"Well… uh…" he stammered as he ran his hand jerkily through his hair, unlike most of the women he dated, Isobel was nearly as tall as he was, able to look him dead straight in the eyes without tilting her head. He both loved & loathed how she made him feel so elated, so awkward, so frustrated all at the same time & now with a simple move she had been able to render him speechless.

"Well… she said, sensing his discomfort & retreating a few steps, thinking she had pushed the boundaries of their fledgling friendship a tad too far. "I'm sure you're hungry… it was her turn to be rendered speechless as he took hold of her hand. "Thanks." He said, a small smile finding its way onto his mouth, his true charm shining through his rough exterior, she gave him a beaming smile. "Anytime." She said as she let herself out.

Daryl sighed as he sat down to his plate of his favorite, he didn't even ask himself how she had known. He knew these feelings weren't going to go away, he had to do something about them… & soon.

_Author's note: I realized that I left Andrea out when I assigned the cabins to everyone, sorry guys, just assume she is staying in the other guest bedroom in the main cabin ;)_


	13. Chapter 13

**The walking dead: the dead files**

**Chapter 13**

**Disclaimer: No owning.**

"So, he took off?" Rick said. "Can't say I blame him, if I'd got a beating like that, I doubt I'd stick around either." T Dog said. "Wonder where he went." Rick said, T Dog shrugged. "Who the hell cares? I say good on Daryl for what he did, any of us would have done the same thing. What if it had been Lori he was doing that to?" T Dog said. "That's different, Lori's my wife, Daryl & Isobel aren't even dating… are they?" T Dog shrugged. "None of my business, man. But if you ask me, I think there are some feelings between them, I mean you saw the way he beat Chase's face in last night & I saw her going to his cabin yesterday mornin' to take him some breakfast & the way she was dressed?" T Dog let out a whistle for emphasis.

"Shame on the two of you, gossiping like two old women, I declare!" Carol said, coming to stand behind them, crossing her arms accusingly. "It _is_ none of your business, & you'd be wise to stay out of it, you hear? Not a _word_ to either of them." She said as she parted company, something wonderful was budding between the two of them & she wasn't going to let anyone spoil it for them; a person needed all the love they could get in a world like this.

"Ya sure you're up to it?" Daryl said as Isobel swung her quiver over her shoulder. "Yeah, those drugs left my system a long time ago, I'm back to my old self. So better watch out." She said as she playfully slugged him. "Yeah?" He grunted as he grabbed her & put her in a playful headlock. "Hey! Quit… My hair… ! She said he gave her a noogie, she reached around with her long legs & took his knees out from under him, causing both of them to go down, her landing on top of him. the world fell away as lost herself in his eyes, unwittingly bringing them closer.

Suddenly a large body crashed down next to them, making them jump to their feet, it was a walker, a huge one. He had been stalking them & had gotten his shoe caught in a tangle of agarita whenhe attempted to lunge for them. "Son of a bitch!" Isobel said as Daryl put it down. "Come on, we should've been payin' more attention." He said as he led the way… Isobel sighed, she hated walkers even more now, if the whole hunger for your flesh thing wasn't bad enough they were also major buzz kills. She was so certain he was about to kiss her, just the thought of that sent bolts of pleasure through her body, she spent countless nights imagining what it would be like.

As she walked on behind him she found herself staring at his broad, muscled shoulders, well-toned from the struggle for survival. She wanted nothing more than to grab hold of him & plant one on him; hell she had almost done that the other day at his cabin, when she had brought him his food.

She even dressed in some of her best for him, he had noticed, she could see that, it wasn't like she was ugly, she knew she wasn't. Intuition told her she was falling for him, she just didn't know if he felt the same, he was so hard to read sometimes. She had never felt like this with anyone before, & she didn't know if she could deal with him rejecting her. Her thoughts were abruptly brought to a halt as Daryl stopped suddenly, causing her to crash into him.

Daryl became very aware of her breasts pressing into his back, & how good her body felt against his, he could feel the heat of her body through his flannel shirt & it drove him mad. "Suddenly, he pointed silently at a good sized buck grazing in a clearing just beyond the thicket. She nodded as she drew her bow back & aimed. Her shot was true & it dropped the buck in one shot, right through his eye. "Damn, girl." He said as she got the back legs & he hoisted the front half over his shoulder. "This'll feed everyone for more'n a week." "This time you're going to help me clean it." she said.

"Save the organs & the scrap bones, Solo gets those." Isobel said as they bagged everything, to put in the freezer, now that the fall winds were kicking up & he wasn't so hot, the freezer was once again usable. "Damn dog, eats better'n most people do." "Hey, you want to have a healthy, well fed dog at your side when you're staring down a big feral hog." Isobel quipped as they walked around the empty yard, everyone was off doing something, Beth & Andrea were off trying their hand at fishing in the big stock tank, Glenn & Maggie were off doing only god knows what, Hershel, Rick & her folks were in the house probably shooting the breeze.

"It's a good thing that walker saved you, because I would have wrestled you good." Isobel said. As they walked on the shaded path behind the cabins, Solo trotting merrily in front of them. "You think?" He said as he put her into another head lock. "Not this time, Missy. He said as he reached back to grab her leg, causing both of them to tumble into the grass.

This time it was he who fell atop, she took the opportunity to run her hands through his longish hair. "Daryl, I don't know what you want, & I don't want to push you to do anything you don't want to." She said. "You ain't." he said softly as they both sat up, she smiled as she made to get up, his hand across her middle halted her. "Where you goin'?" He asked. "I…" she trailed off as they drew closer to one another, like two opposite ends of a magnate. _'Aw… hell with it' _Daryl thought to himself as he pressed his mouth against hers.


	14. Chapter 14

**The walking Dead: The dead Files**

**Chapter 14**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything obviously.**

'_Was this really happening?'_ Isobel's mind was delirious as Daryl planted kisses on every inch of exposed skin, somewhere along the way, they had both lost their shirts & despite the early fall chill that hung in the air, they were both sweating. "You've been driving me crazy, you know that?" He growled against the valley of her collarbone as he nuzzled & kicked the soft skin there. "Oh, god." She moaned, her voice dripping with desire as she feverishly kissed & nibbled his neck & ears.

"Well, now ain't this pretty scene." A voice said, Daryl went for his hunting knife, but the man was too quick for him. "Daryl!" Isobel cried as one of the masked men, kicked Daryl in the face & brought his bat down on the back of his head, rendering him unconscious. "You son of a…" she said, reaching for her revolver, not seeing the second man behind her. Daryl's unconscious form was the last thing she remembered as something collided with the back of her head, throwing her into the void of unconsciousness.

Rick ran out of the cabin, followed by Isobel's parents & Hershel, roused by Daryl's bellows. He came stumbling out of the brush, the left side of his face was swollen & bruised, he was cradling a limp Solo, blood from what looked like a gunshot staining his white coat. "What in Sam Hill happened here?" Rick said as Hershel hurried forward & helped Daryl into the house. "Daryl, your hurt!" Carol said, "H…help the dog… " he said as he gently handed him over to Hershel. "What in the fuck happened!" Rick said again. "Isobel an' I… were patrolin', men came… took her…" he said as he collapsed again.

Isobel's eyes lulled open, her vision was bleary & she struggled to focus, from what she could se, she was in some kind of building, he smelled like an old barn. She tried to rub her eyes in order to get a better grip on where she was, but found that her hands were bound, panic washed over her as she remembered what happened & she struggled against her restraints.

One of the men back handed her. "Not so tough without your hillbilly body guard, are ya?" Her eyes shot open, she recognized that voice. "Chase!" She spat, wiping the dried blood from her eyes as she met his gaze. "I see what they say's true, that rats always seek out the company of each other." She said as she took notice of Ted standing at the door.

"You're really in no position to be calling anyone names, girly." He said as he roughly gripped her chin in his large hand. "You should have chosen you dick more wisely, bitch." He said, she replied by spitting in his face. "Why you…!" He said as he lunged toward her, just then, he heard voices. Two other men, the other half of their group. "Chase, what in the hell are you doing in here! Get your ass out here & help us… oh… shit!" he trailed off as he caught sight of the battered, bound woman.

"What the hell, Chase!" I send you out to get food & you come back with a prisoner?!" "I said I was going to get what was mine, you gotta problem with that?" He replied, the other men raised their hands in defeat, but their expressions still harbored a twinge of uneasiness about having a prisoner. "I don't know, Chase, I just think you're setting us up for all kinds of problems down the road, what if she has a group that'll come lookin' for her?" the second of them said "Ain't nobody going to come looking for her." Chase said confidently, Isobel feverishly hoped that he was wrong.

As soon as he was able, Daryl mounted a frantic search for Isobel, but without Solo's help, it was proving to be an arduous task. Solo had survived a point blank shot to the face, knocking his assailant to the ground in the process, luckily for him, the bullet only glanced his skull & imbedded itself harmlessly in the soft tissue just to the left of his right ear.

"How is he?" Daryl asked once he had gotten back from searching that day, in spite of himself, he cared for the damn mutt, fuck he'd taken a damn shot to the head trying to save Isobel, kept right out of the brush at the guy… & Daryl admired him for that. A lot of dogs loved their owners but wouldn't have done that. Which is why he had a lot of respect for Argentine Dogos, every one he had known was like that. "See for yourself." Hershel said with a smile as Solo bounded straight to Daryl, nearly knowing him over & soaking his face in wet, slobbery kisses. "Come on, boy, you're stayin' with me." He said.

"Come on, you have to eat something, its been three days & all you've had is water." The older man in the group said as he held a spoon of venison stew up to her lips, she pursed her lips tightly, not allowing the spoon to pass through them. "Why are you being so stubborn." He said. "Why are you holding me against my will?" She replied, he sighed. "I'm not, I don't even want to be a part of this whole deal. I had no idea what Chase had planned. He & just showed up with Ted one day, all beat up, saying that he was going to get some guy named Daryl back for somethin'." He said, Isobel smiled inwardly, she saw his face, Daryl worked him over good.

"That somethin' was me, he drugged me & tried to rape me." She said, the man was taken aback. "I know his kind, he won't stop with me, I used to run with him, & its why I ditched him in the first place, because he… tried to do it to another girl." She said. "He doesn't seem like the type." The older man said, shocked, Isobel gritted her teeth. "Not in the surface he doesn't. What's your name, by the way?" The man smiled, in spite of herself, she liked this man, he seemed genuine. He suddenly looked nervously up at the corner, she suspected she was being watched somehow. "Don't worry, I'm going to find a way to get you out of here… just hold on." He said, his voice barely audible, she watched him as he quickly departed her company, she didn't know whether to trust him or not.

_Author's note: I know I'm suddenly turning these out like hot cakes, I have just suddenly been overwhelmed with so many ideas! They just won't stop coming… don't get used to it because starting Monday I will be gone for 2 weeks LOL thanks for everyone who faved me, i really appreciate it :), i can't tell you what it means to me :)_


	15. Chapter 15

**The walking Dead: the dead files**

**Chapter 15**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"Aygh!" Daryl sputtered as he awoke to having his face washed by Solo's warm, wet tongue. "Okay, OKAY!" he said as he drug himself out of bed & opened the door so he could take his morning constitution, he didn't know why the dog bothered, the recent rains had surely washed away any traces of a scent he sighed as he halfheartedly pulled on a pair of jeans, it had been three weeks since Isobel had disappeared & it had been pouring rain for at least a week or so, giving them no chance to get out & look for her, Daryl kicked his nightstand a few times out of frustration. It was happening again, the same thing that happened to Sophia, it seemed like the more he tried to keep someone safe, the more they suffered.

Isobel didn't know what day it was anymore, they seemed to melt together, the older man & his son, who she now knew as Walter & Chad had somehow convinced Chase to allow her out of the chair to use the washroom & bathe, albeit on a tight leash… literally in the form of a pair of rope hobbles attached to a ten food rope, which one of her captors kept a firm hold of just on the other side of the washroom door.

She felt like one of those wild animals forced to live as a pet, which is exactly what _she_ was, Chase's pet, a prize he could come & admire whenever he wanted, he had never violated her sexually, & she was thankful for that, but she still didn't like the way he looked at her, she was nothing more than a possession to him, a trophy. Walter chained her hands behind her to the back to the hard, wooden chair, always apologizing profusely as he did so, she didn't blame him, he was scared for his son, who knows what Chase would do if he found him trying to help her escape. All in all he did the best he could, always making sure she had enough to eat & drink & that her personal needs were met.

But in the dark of the night when she was alone, she still cried herself to sleep, thinking of Daryl, her soul, her very essence ached for him, she finally admitted to herself that she was in love with him, funny thing it was, even just resonating around her own head, _'I love him…'_ it bounced around her head over & over again, it was so unlike her to fall for someone she barely knew, & as she rationalized to herself, he had a tendency to be quite violent & his temper sometimes frightened her. _'No'_ the voice in her head said over her doubting thoughts, _'Daryl's a good man, he has a temper but he would never lay a hand on you..'_ Just then she heard something rustle behind her & her breath caught in her throat as Daryl's words when they had first met echoed in her head._ "There ain't nowhere that's safe…"_ She prayed it was some kind of animal, at least she could survive a bite from an animal, but if it was a walker, she was screwed. She tried to remain as silent as possible, barely even daring to breathe, her heart rate quickening, whatever it was, it was coming closer.

She almost cried out as a large, wet tongue washed her face frantically, she would know that tongue anywhere. "Solo!" she whispered excitedly, he hurried to where she was bound & pulled uselessly at the chains that held her to the chair, causing a fair amount of noise in the process, just outside, she heard her guard stir & grunt in his sleep. "Solo… here!" she hissed, he came & sat in front of her, she didn't even know if he'd understand her, but she had to try, he was now her only hope. "I need you to do something for mommy, I need you to get Daryl… get Daryl… go get him!" she said as loud & cheerily as she dared, Solo gave her face one last lick & like a ghost, he was gone.

Daryl's eyes snapped open as he jolted out of a restless sleep, filled with nightmares of what they were probably doing to Isobel, if she was even still alive, that was a sore subject, so sore that he had hauled off & punched Rick in the face when he suggested that they might be looking for a body. Suddenly, he became aware of s strange scratching sound at his door. He grabbed his crossbow & flung it open to come face to face with Solo. "Fuck." He said as he let the cross bow drop limp at his side. "Finally got too cold for ya out in the woods, huh?" He said, but it was something else, Solo took hold of the tail of his shirt & pulled him toward the woods. "The hell, dog! I Ain't goin' out there, it ain't even dawn yet!" he said as he attempted to yank his shirt out of the dogs grip, but he only maneuvered his mouth so he had a tighter hold on it.

His yelling had awoken Rick & T Dog, all had a chuckle at the scene before them. "You should shower more often, Daryl, dog thinks you're a chew toy." T Dog joked, Daryl growled in reply, but Rick was keener then that, he wasn't an expert, but he knew enough about animals to recognize when a dog was trying to convey that he knew something they didn't. "What is it boy?" Rick asked as he kneeled down to the dog's level. "Whatcha got? Show us, show us whatcha got." He said in an enthusiastic voice one typically uses when talking to a dog, Solo let go of the front of Daryl's flannel, leaving it soaked with slimy drool, Daryl disgustingly wrung it out. He ran to the edge of the brushy Texas forest & back again. "Whatda you think?" Daryl asked. "I think we should follow him, a good dog always knows what he's doing." Rick said as they set off.

Isobel's eyes snapped open, she was unsure how long she was out for, she could see faint, dusty beams of winter sunlight streaming through the slats in the barn's hay loft, it did nothing to quell the chill in the damp air & she couldn't suppress a shiver as her body broke out in goose bumps, her quivering breath hanging in the air in front of her. She coughed hollowly, day after day of being clad in only her bra & jeans in the cold, damp fall air had taken its toll. She could feel a flu coming on. Just then she heard a shout from outside, then a couple of gunshots & men screaming, her heart froze. _'Walkers.'_ Was the first thing that entered her mind, maybe if she kept quiet they wouldn't find her.

Her throat tightened with fear as a hand appeared around the edge of the cracked doors of the barn. This was it, she was a goner. A sob escaped her throat when the owner of the hand peered sharply around the edge of the door, they were backlit against the light from the slatted windows behind them, it was Daryl. His eyes flashed as he rushed forward, Solo padding behind him, he took out his hunting knife & cut through the leather straps that bound her, as soon as her hands were free, she threw her arms around her. "It's ok, girl, they won't be botherin' you anymore." He said as he gathered her slender frame in his arms, her long legs dangling over the crook of his arm, Solo bounced excitedly in circles around them. "Oh, & that's one fucking smart dog ya got." He added with a smile & she chuckled in spite of herself.

"Well, she's resting comfortably but she's caught the death of colds & I'm running out of antibiotics." Hershel said. "I'll go ta town." Daryl said, Hershel shook his head. "No, son, I think your place is here. I don't want her to wake up panicked, wondering where you are. She loves you, son. Whether you're ready for it... or not." He said, gripping Daryl's shoulder briefly before leaving the room, leaving Daryl to his own numbing, & confused thoughts.

Did she love him? Did he love her? He cared for her, & he wanted her, that he knew, just the thought of her naked drove him mad with desire. But did he LOVE her? Daryl ran his hand roughly through his hair. His soul was torn, so conflicted. Part of him wanted to take her in his arms & run, just the two of them, the other half was terrified & it infuriated him. He was tough as nails, bad ass Daryl Dixon for god's sake… NOTHING was supposed to scare him. But the woman in the bed before him, so fragile & vulnerable, just like Sophia had been when the walkers had chased her into the woods that day. He couldn't protect her, & that's what scared the shit out of him.

_Author's note: thanks guys, well I didnt go out of town, didnt work out so i can continue this story._


	16. Chapter 16

**The walking dead: the dead files**

**Chapter 16**

**Disclaimer: I no own.**

"Hi, Isobel." Carl said shyly as he stood hesitantly at the threshold of the doorway, Isobel did her best to put on that she didn't feel as bad as she did. "Picked you these." He said shyly as he placed some beautiful wildflowers in a small glass on her nightstand. "Thanks." She said warmly, the boy fidgeted with the buttons of his jacket, the need to ask her something was plain as the nose on his face. "Come on, kid, out with it." She said with a smile. "I've seen you… how good you are at shooting an arrow & all that… I was wondering, c-could you teach me?" He asked, concentrating fiercely on the buttons of his jacket as he talked, as if he was terrified that she would say no.

"Did you ask your mother?" She said with a knowing smile, his inner groan was evident on his face. "She doesn't want me to learn about weapons, not just guns… ANYTHING. It sucks, maybe if I had known how, maybe I could have protected Sophia when she was chased by that walker, then she might've never died." He said, she felt sorry for this kid as she watched him deflate as he talked. "Tell you what, I will teach you & it'll be our little secret, ok?" she said as she gave him a reassuring smile. "Ok!" he said, brightening as he trotted from the room.

Isobel sat on the porch, feeling almost back to normal, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of Daryl since she had been on the mend. _'he has to go out hunting, you certainly aren't strong enough to do it yet.'_She thought to herself though her intuition nagged her that it was something more. "Isobel?" a small voice brought her out of her thoughts, she turned to see Carl standing there, looking sheepish. "Where's your mom?" "Washing clothes." Isobel nodded. "Let's go."

"Now, draw it back, far as you can." She said, Carl tried but his grip on the arrow slipped & his shot went wide into the nearby brush, Carl sighed & let the bow drop to his side in frustration. "Here, I think this might be more your style." She said as she handed him a tomahawk. "Let me show you." She said, suddenly, a walker appeared about ten feet from them, Carl took in a sharp breath as he began backing up. "Oh, perfect, a volunteer for a live demo." She said as she threw the tomahawk & split the walker's skull right between the eyes. "Wow!" he said as she retrieved the one she had thrown from the head of the dead walker.

"See that tree over there?" he nodded, she turned sharply & in the blink of an eye split it right down the middle. "the key's in the grip just hold it like this," she said as she stood behind him, her hand covering his & together they landed the second one right below her first. "Sweet!" he said in awe. "When I make a run into town, I'll try to find a youth bow for you."

Carl beamed at her as they made their way back to the house, suddenly they spotted another walker, about fifteen feet off in the small clearing they had to cross, it hadn't noticed them yet. "Want another try with the bow?" "Yeah!" he whispered excitedly. "Keep your hands like this," she said as she had him hold the bow while she gripped it behind him. "pull it back like this," she said as she strung the bow tight. "aim, & let it go." She said as she let the arrow fly, it went straight through the walker's eye & it dropped like a stone. "Awesome!" Carl said as they traced the clearing towards the house, as soon as Lori saw them, she came running.

"Carl! I've been looking everywhere for you! Get back to the house where I told you to stay!" she said, Carl gave Lori a mortified look as he trudged towards the porch. "Why don't you just take him to Hershel & ask him to cut off his balls while you're at it?" Isobel said as she flicked open her zippo with her thumb & lit a cigarette.

"What are you insinuating?" Lori said dangerously as she stepped a little closer to Isobel, her fists balling. "That you mentally castrate your boy every chance you get." Isobel said calmly, with an air one would ose when commenting on the weather. "Look, lady, in case you haven't noticed, the world has _changed_. Dead people are getting up & walking around & eating the living. Don't you think it's time you let Carl have the manhood he so desperately wants? He's gonna want his nuts sometime, you can't play keep away with them forever."

Lori suddenly hauled off threw a wild punch at Isobel, who saw it coming a mile away. Quick as a striking snake, she grabbed Lori's outstretched arm with her left hand & twisted her around straight back behind her as she pushed her forward with her right, Lori hissed in pain. "I could dislocate your shoulder, you know." Isobel said calmly as she pulled it back further, Lori let out a whimper as the tendons in her shoulder stretched, her shoulder almost popping out of its socket. Then, Isobel suddenly let go, causing Lori to fall face down in the sandy grass.

"Hey! What is going on here!" Rick said as he ran up accompanied by Glenn, T dog & Daryl, who Isobel noticed, harbored the ghost of an amused smirk as he studied the scene before them, then locked eyes with her. "Why don't you tell her yourself, I was only doing what _you _asked me to do & she goes & tried to hit me. Besides, I told her she'd have problems if she got in my face again." Isobel said curtly as she stamped her cigarette out & walked off towards the house. "Rick, what is she talking about?" Lori rounded on him as she stood, brushing dust & dry grass off her jeans, Rick sighed as he rubbed his face.

"I… I asked Isobel if she would work with Carl, he needs to know how to defend himself, Lori." Lori looked livid. "Rick how could you…!" "Lori stop, Carl isn't a child anymore, he needs to know how to defend himself, you've seem to have forgot that he's _my_son too & I don't want to have something like what happened to Sophia happen to him. I'm not going to be around forever to protect him, & neither are you, it's time he learn what it takes to survive in this hell of a world we live in; this is not up for debate, Lori, my mind is made up." Rick said as they turned away from her.

"Hey." Andrea said as she joined Isobel on the porch after dinner that night, Isobel nodded at her & offered her a cigarette, which Andrea graciously took. Solo thumped his tail against the deck in greeting from his spot under Isobel's chair. Isobel lit one & offered her zippo to Andrea. "That thing you did, standing up to Lori; that… was fucking awesome." Andrea said as she tossed her lighter back to her. "Ever since Rick was appointed as the 'leader'…" Andrea said, holding her fingers up as quotations for sarcastic emphasis. "…she's been strutting around the camp like she's the wife of the fucking president of the United States or something." She said.

Isobel blew out the smoke of her cigarette with a chuckle. "I am no domestic diva, I will help with the cooking, I come from a down home southern family, even the men in the family learned how to cook. But I will not do someone else's clothes & I wouldn't expect someone else to do my clothes." She said. "That's why Me & her don't get along, ever since the incident at the CDC, I have a new outlook on life, I don't know how much time I have left, & I'm damn sure not going to spend it elbow deep in someone else's dirty skivvies." Andrea said as they shared a laugh.

"Isobel, can I talk to you?" Isobel tried not to look annoyed as she turned around; she had been outside, practicing her martial arts in the light of the setting sun, her body moving in captivating, deadly grace. She had thought she had gotten far enough away from the house to be one with her own solitude, this was a meditative time for her, time to let the stresses of today's world melt away for at least a short time.

"I couldn't help seeing you, we both couldn't." Beth said as she & Maggie wrung their hands. "You want to learn." Isobel said, they brightened. "Can we?" Isobel shrugged good naturedly, she was rough around the edges, but deep down she liked to help people, anything she could do to aid in their fight for survival. "Sure." She said with a smile.

_Author's note: Guys, i know there hasnt been much Daryl/Isobel lately but there will be, trust me, just be patient :) i wanted to develop her character a little more because i felt that she was a little on the shallow side & TWD is more about the characters & how they are dealing with the world they have been thrust into then the action or the zombies themselves, so I'm trying to stay true to that. Again, thanks to all who faved & like & read this story :)_


	17. Chapter 17

**The walking dead: The dead files **

**Chapter 17**

**Disclaimer: I no own.**

"You sure you feel up to it?" Rick said as Isobel swung her back pack over her shoulder. "Yeah, Hershel's given me the all clear, he reckons it was all the vitamin c I'm taking." She said with a laugh. "I should be back this evening." She said as she set out, Solo at her side, she hoped to find a feral hog or at least a small deer, enough to feed them for a while. Part of her had hoped to be able to say goodbye to Daryl or at least see him, but he had left on an early morning supply run to town with Glenn that morning.

'_Get a hold of yourself, you sound like a teenage girl with a crush!'_ she thought angrily to herself, she couldn't help it though, she had been bitten by that thing they call the love bug. She was disappointed he hadn't been around for her to ask if he would go with her, her heart had leapt at the thought of spending time in a deer blind alone with Daryl, but sadly it wasn't meant to be. _'You're wasting your time,'_ the voice in her head sneered _'…he's made it perfectly clear that he isn't interested.'_ "Oh well, you win some, you lose some." She said sadly to Solo.

"Hey!" Glenn said as he nudged Daryl awake. "We're here." Daryl grunted as Glenn pulled the Prius around to the rear of the general store, "Next time I'm drivin', you drive so slow I fell asleep." He snorted as they got out, closing their doors as quietly as possible. "Place looks dead." "Don't everything these days?" Daryl replied as they headed towards the pharmacy.

"Not too much left." Daryl said, Glenn smiled as he led him to the storage room where a large safe was pushed out in the middle of the room. "Help me move this." Glenn said, with great effort slid it out & there was a trap door, the place had a basement. "It's a storm cellar, Me & Isobel found it when we were stuck here the last time so we started stockpiling the good shit in there, since we had to leave in a hurry, & there was a lot of shit left, especially behind the pharmacy counter." Glenn said. "That's a smart thing ya did, China man. I'm proud of ya." He said as he gave the small Asian man a playful push. "Very funny." Glenn retorted, making a face.

The day was almost over, & all Isobel had managed to kill was a bunch of rabbits, she hadn't seen any big game since she had killed the last hog, she suspected the walkers had run everything off. She heard a rustling in the brush ahead of her & she crouched behind a tree & waited, the rustling grew louder & a garbling sound was heard.

Her heart skipped a couple of beats as a tom turkey came into view. He was gorgeous & in the prime of his life, he would make an excellent meal for the group tonight. Ever so slowly, she pulled an arrow from her quiver & as quietly as she could, she aimed & fired. It went right through the turkey's neck but it wasn't an instant kill, the bird flopped around & made a bit of a scene as the life left him. "Shit!" she hissed as she quickly came forward to claim the turkey & wasted no time getting the hell out of there.

The walkers were running out of food in the cities, & small gangs became big herds as they moved across the countryside, picking off animals & people as they went, she suspected they came because of the abundance of food due to the feeders & stands they had set up around the property. All the bigger game must have realized the danger & moved on, only the creatures that could fly or outrun the walkers had stayed.

Twenty rabbits & one turkey every few days wasn't going to do it forever; she knew that she needed to bag some big game & that meant having to ask Daryl for help. She hated to admit it even to herself that she was scared to ask him, terrified that he would say no or worse; blow her off or laugh in her face. She wanted to think that he wasn't like that, but he ran so hot & cold with her that she just didn't know his angle, one minute he was undressing her in the woods, almost crying with joy at her safe return, then once she was well enough he was back to his old surly, sullen, moody self. "Men." She said to Solo as they crested the hill & the house came into view.

Lori & Carol jumped back as Isobel plopped the dead turkey & her string of rabbits on the stump that had been using to fold clothes. "Dinner." She said expressionlessly as she turned to walk off. "Aren't you going to help us clean them?" She retorted, Isobel paused, her back turned to them for a minute before she slowly walked up, removing her bow & quiver from her shoulder, Lori watched, confused with a hard look in her eyes as Isobel held them out to her. "Sure, I'll clean em' then tomorrow, _you _ can go hunting." She said with a fake air of pleasantness.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as the two women held each other's eyes, Lori never broke her gaze, but she didn't take hold of the weapons either, after a moment, Isobel smirked sarcastically as she slung them back over her shoulder. "That's what I thought." She said with finality as she turned on her heel & walked toward the house. "God I really hate that woman." Lori said venomously, Carol said nothing & didn't dare look up from her task of gutting & cleaning the rabbits, but she couldn't fight the slight upturn of her mouth.

It was almost dark when faint headlights could be seen in the distance, after dark they kept the lights in the house. From the top of the on the edge of the forest, Isobel clicked the safety off the 30-06 & peered through the night vision scope, her heart did a small summer salt, it was Daryl & Glenn, back from their supply run.

"Here, you boys must be famished." Carol said as she gave each of them a plate. "Turkey? The hell?!" Daryl said as he & Glenn sat down. "Isn't it wonderful? Carol baked it." "Isobel shot it." Carol interjected, his face harboring a huge smile. "A turkey?" Daryl said, intrigued, turkeys were hard to get, especially with a bow. "She also got enough rabbits for stew tomorrow & the next day, she's a nice girl." Carol said. "Rabbits are hard to get, too. She was trying to teach me the other day & I couldn't hit one for anything, but she killed two, she's _awesome_." Carl said airily; Daryl couldn't help but grin. So the boy had his first crush.

"Hey." Isobel spooked slightly at the sudden intrusion into her solitude, her stomach did a summer salt when she saw it was Daryl. Why _did_ he affect her like that! "Got watch tonight, huh?" he said after a bout of awkward silence. "Yeah." She said uncomfortably. "Say… since I've got you I might as well ask you, I was planning to go on a hunting trip for bigger game, the occasional turkey & a bunch of rabbits ain't gonna do it forever, & I think the damn walkers chased all the bigger game towards Mexico. But… I need someone to go with." She said, a long silence ensued as he thought it over.

"I'll go wit' ya." He said, she smiled a soft smile as she zipped her coat up further & pulled her hat down against the biting cold. Daryl couldn't help but wonder how she got all of that hair under that hat. "Thanks." She didn't know if it was the cold or not, but she thought she saw the ghost of a blush creeping up Daryl's cheeks. "Ain't nothin'." He said quickly as they fell into another silence, but this one wasn't as uncomfortable, it was just two people, enjoying each other's presence in a dying world. "If you're getting cold, you can go, Daryl. No reason to stay out of you don't have to." Isobel said, "I don't mind the cold." He replied as he gazed out over the brushy landscape, Isobel couldn't hide her smile as she left it at that.

_Author's Note: another chapter done, the ideas just won't stop, I imagined that the walkers are just like any predator, drawn to any place that had prey, human or animal. Which is why they saw so many, but once the pray moved on of course most of them did too. _


	18. Chapter 18

**The walking dead: the dead files**

**Chapter 18**

**Disclaimer: I don't own.**

Daryl walked out of his cabin & was surprised to find Isobel sitting on the porch, finishing her third cigarette, waiting for him. "Bout time you got outta bed, come on, we're burnin' daylight." She said as she rocked back against the porch swing & used the momentum to rock smoothly to her feet. "Did ya tell Rick?" She nodded. "Told him last night." She said as the ranch disappeared behind them.

After walking for the day & getting nothing but a load of rabbits, they came across an abandoned border watch tower, Isobel used the climbing rope she brought to wrap around the bottom rung of the latter & hoisted herself up until she could take hold of where the latter began, after she was far enough up, Daryl followed her, pulling the rope up as he went. He didn't figure walkers could climb ropes, but better safe than sorry.

Daryl found his eyes drawn to Isobel's ass as she climbed, the muscles flexing with effort & he swore under his breath, the effect she had on him frustrated him. He had had his share of broads, but this girl she was no broad, she was something else entirely, something he couldn't explain.

Maybe it was the fact that she knew her way around a bow, that she could split a walker's skull in half with one throw of a tomahawk, or maybe it was because she was fucking gorgeous with her light brown hair that hung in soft curls to her waist, it was the kind of hair that made a him want to twirl it around his fingers. Maybe it was her tall, slender frame, leanly muscled from months of surviving on her own. Or perhaps it was the masculine air of self-confidence she had about her while still managing ti be a woman in every way.

He took a deep breath & tried to think of something other than the thought of how it would be to fuck her, but his mind seemed stuck on the subject as they reached the top. "Here" She said as she handed him a thick blanket, he wordlessly took it propped himself up against the furthest corner away from her, a move that didn't go unnoticed. "I don't bite, you know." She said with a chuckle, he gave her a hard expression that didn't reach his stunning blue eyes. "So… tell me about yourself. She said, her face breaking into a friendly grin, his expression tightened.

"What the fuck is this, Dr. Phil?" He quipped, she laughed. "Hey can't blame a girl for wanting to know more about the person who's gonna be watching her back for the next couple of days or so." His expression slowly turned from stone like to harboring a dry smirk. "You first." He said "Ok; I was born & raised in Lerado Texas, I have a brother that's two years my senior named Bobby. We were cattle barons before all this shit went down but when the walkers came through, they took them all out." She gestured to him "your turn.

"I was raised in the mountains of Georgia, my momma died when I was young & dad was always in the joint for something, so my older brother, Merle's the one who raised me, but he was in the joint a lot too, so I spent a lot of time by myself." His eyes darted from the tower's dusty floor to meet hers. "Where'd ya learn your outdoor skills?"

"Lerado is a town close to the border, lotta trespassers' & drug smugglers, dad thought it wise that I know how to take care of myself. I still remember the fights he & mom had over it, how he couldn't make up for all the stuff he didn't get to do with my brother, I was a girl & should be raised as such." She said with a laugh. "Bobby never liked the outdoors; he's very metrosexual I always used to tease him about being the girlish one in the family." "What happened to your brother?" Daryl asked. "Don't know, he works in New York, I hope he got out." She said, sadness washing over her face.

"When she awoke, light was just starting to creep into the windows of the tower; she noticed that she felt oddly warm despite the winter chill that hung in the air. She looked around her & didn't bother to fight the smile that came to her face. Sometime during the night, Daryl had scooted over to her side & wrapped his arms around her. "Bout time, thought you'd never wake up." As he spoke, she noticed that he had his nose buried in her hair, inhaling deep through his nose.

He found himself intoxicated by her scent; lavender & something else sweet that he couldn't put his finger on, just a simple whiff of her hair was turning him on & the heat of her body against his sent waves of desire rippling through his body & he groaned inwardly & prayed she wouldn't notice. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she suddenly sat up, he swallowed hard as their eyes met, she had such beautiful eyes. He was about to throw all caution to the wind & pull her to him & kiss her when they heard a rustling below them.

Isobel drew in a breath as two does milled around below them, Isobel & Daryl readied their weapons & let their arrows fly in unison, & both struck the deer straight in the back of the neck, dropping them instantly. They quickly climbed down to claim their prizes as Solo met them at the bottom. "This'll feed everyone for at least two weeks." Daryl said as he & Isobel hoisted their respective deer across their shoulders, it was only a small doe she had shot, but he still marveled at how strong she was despite her lean appearance.

Solo cleared the last hill before the house came into view & stopped dead in his tracks, his hackles standing up on his back, a wave of dread washed over Isobel as she dropped her deer & created the hill next to Solo. A discernible sound escaped her throat. "Fuck." He breathed as he came up beside her. Even at a distance, it was clear that a battle had ensued; bodies of walkers littered the yard & a few of the windows were broken in the main house. As they drew closer, they noticed the bus was missing. "Herd musta come through." Daryl said.

They cautiously made their way into the house, it was an obstacle course of overturned furniture & debris, & there was no sign of anyone, dead or alive. In the kitchen they came across a huge note scrawled hurriedly into the drywall with a knife. _'WEST'_. They crept out back to find the Prius sitting, as if waiting for them. They tossed their weapons in the back seat & slid in, Daryl wrenched open the center console to find the keys, he jammed them in the ignition & pulled out of the drive way as more walkers stumbled out of the thickets.

"This really is it, isn't it? The end of the world." Isobel said, her expression mirroring Solo's forlorn one as they stared at their once beautiful family home, it disappeared around the corner as they made the turn on the paved country highway. "Where to now?" "Note said west, so that's where we're goin'." Daryl replied.

_Author's note: I know that some of you were missing Daryl, don't worry the next few chapters are going to focus on him & Isobel as they try to find their friends. Sorry if it sucks, I kind of struggled writing this chapter, it sounded so good in my head but I couldn't make it come out on paper like a wanted… oh well, that's always been the hard part for me._


	19. Chapter 19

The walking dead: the dead files chapter 19

Disclaimer: I no own

It seemed like forever, they drove silenced over the events that had just occurred. Solo's soft panting was the only sound in the small car, suddenly a dinging sound from the car broke the silence. "Fuck." Daryl swore, there wasn't a gas station in sight, Isobel smiled as she reached across his arm, her accidental brush against his skin caused him to jump back like he had been scalded.

"Hey… what's your scene, man!" she said with a laugh as she pushed a small button on the steering wheel, switching the hybrid to battery power. "There's enough juice to get us to a gas station, there's one about fifty miles from here." She said, giving him a strange, amused look as she settled back against her chair. "If you get tired, tell me, I can drive." She said as she pulled her hat forward over her eyes in an effort to catch some z's.

"Hey." He said as he nudged her sharply, she spooked into consciousness to find they had arrived at the deserted filling station; she drew her colt & made sure it was loaded as she scoped the place out, it seemed devoid of humans, which is what she was really worried about, the walkers were easy to handle, it was her fellow man she was most concerned about running into.

She used her crowbar to pry open the gas tanks _'shit!'_ she thought as she made a sudden realization, she didn't have a hose to siphon the fuel out, & it was in the RV. She sat back on her haunches & thought, Daryl barked at her to hurry up, but she ignored him, then… she had an idea.

She grabbed her hunting knife & began cutting the hose that connected the pumps to the nozzles & severed both of them at either end. She dug into her pocket & pulled out a hose clamp & a plastic connector. Working quickly, glancing up to sweep her surroundings every so often, she made a small cut in of the hose pieces, hammered the plastic connector in & slid the other piece over it, she used her screwdriver to tighten the clamp as much as she could.

"Think that'll work?" Daryl's voice came from behind her, his tone slightly amused at her skills. "Let's hope so, or else we're walking." She replied as she fed the hose down the tank til she heard the sound of it hitting liquid she took a deep breath out & put the hose to her mouth to start the gasoline flowing. Daryl fidgeted nervously, unable to stop the flood of sensuous thoughts that invaded his mind as he watched her to that. From inside the hose she felt a rushing & she took her mouth away just as gas began pouring out; Daryl opened the tank for her & she fed the hose in. "When you live in the middle of nowhere, you learn quick how to fix shit yourself." She said, as if sensing his question.

"You really are a bad ass chick, you know that?" Daryl said as he let his crossbow fall against his side, she smiled as she leaned nonchalantly against the car. "I'm just your average country girl." She said with a smile as she wiped her hands on her handkerchief; the slow, methodical way she cleaned every finger from base to tip with the hanky was turning him on, fuck… everything she _did_ seemed to turn him on, a fact that made him squirm uncomfortably.

He let out a growl & he stepped closer to her, their faces inches apart. She stared into his eyes unblinkingly; his free arm came to grip her at the base of her neck, his fingers gently stroking her soft skin he smiled as he saw her close her eyes & part her mouth slightly in response to his touch. "Shit!" She said & they both jumped back as ice cold gasoline, made colder by the winter day spilled out of the tank & onto their feet spoiling the moment.

Daryl cursed under his breath as she pulled the hose out of the tank & stashed in the trunk. "Let's get going before our luck runs out, I'll drive." She said, he didn't protest, he was dead tired from the trials of the day. He slid into the passenger seat, laying his crossbow over his lap as she pulled out of the filling station.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" T Dog said as Glenn tied a piece of caution tape in a bowtie on an outlying limb along their trail. "We have to do something, its not like we can hold up somewhere & wait for him to catch up to us." Glenn said, nodding as a couple of walkers appeared in the distance. "They're learning that vehicles also mean food & it's not like this thing isn't easily spotted." He added. "Come on, we'd better get goin'." T Dog said.

"Hey." Daryl nudged Isobel's shoulder; they slowed down & saw a couple of walkers sniffing & chewing at something that was attached to the branch of a tree. Without saying anything, Isobel leaned across his lap & fired two shots from her colt, dropping the walkers where they stood. "Oh… sorry…" she said, blushing deeply as she realized what part of him she had laid her hand on. With lightning reflexes, he gripped her wrist firmly, preventing her from removing it.

They locked eyes again & became mesmerized by the intensity of each other's gaze, she didn't even break it as she aimed & put down a third walker that stumbled out of the oak forest, apparently having followed the first two. "W-we should… check it out." He said, tearing his gaze from hers as he exited the Prius cautiously.

It was a piece of caution tape, Daryl fingered it, flashing largest smile she had seen from him since she had met him. "What does it mean?" His grin widened. "It means we're on the right track." He said triumphantly then suddenly ducked as she dispatched a walker that was lunging at him from behind. "I think that's our queue." She said.

"What r'ya doin'?" Daryl asked sharply as she pulled off onto a county road upon seeing a mail box. "We need to find somewhere to stay for the night before it gets dark." She said, he opened his mouth to protest when she overrode him. "Look, I know you want to find our friends, but we are both exhausted & we have no supplies & no food left, we need to find a place that we can restock at." She said.

Daryl crossed his arms across his chest & flopped angrily back against his seat, as much as he hated to admit it, she was right. a quaint little cottage greeted them at the end of the driveway, they exited the Prius cautiously, their weapons drawn.


	20. Chapter 20

**The walking dead the dead files: chapter 20**

**Disclaimer: I no own.**

Daryl nodded in reassurance to Isobel that he had her covered as she glanced back at him before entering the small house. After checking every corner & finding no one, dead or alive, Isobel quietly rummaged through the pantry & found a few cans of spaghetti-o's & ravioli. "Bon apatite." She said as she tossed one to him along with a spoon she had found in one of the drawers in the kitchen.

"Looks like these people just upped & left, they left their clothes & everything." She said, her voice muffled by the bedroom wall as she rummaged through the closet. "I don't know if these'll fit you, but they're better then wearing dirty ones." She said as she came out with a few T shirts & a couple of pairs of jeans. "I don' need em'." He said without looking at her. "Oh… I beg to differ." She said as she made a face, his face reddened slightly as he snatched the clothes from her.

"What bout you? Ain't like you smell like a bed of roses either." He retorted, he was lying of course, she smelled _great_, like the smell that came off a lavender field in the spring, she laughed. "For your _information_, Daryl Dixon, I am planning on taking bath, when was the last time _you_ took one?" she quipped.

He growled moodily at her & wrenched his body around to face the dead fireplace as she places a few buckets of water on the wood stove & stoked the fire. Once the water came to a boil, she lugged it to the bathroom. The bathroom had a shower separate from the tub, there was running water, thanks to the well, but since it was fifty degrees outside & dropping, she want too interested in taking a frigidly cold shower.

She plugged up the tub with the plunger that hung on a chain attached to the faucet & filled the it until there was enough water to accommodate her slender frame. She undressed & slid slowly into the tub. "Ahhhh…" she sighed as she dunked her head under the water for a few seconds.

Daryl fidgeted nervously from his spot on the couch, trying unsuccessfully not to think about the fact that she was in the tub… naked & wet. Just the thought of her in that state sent hot waves of desire, lust & need through his body & he rubbed his hand over his eyes in frustration. Then, Isobel reappeared, dressed in men's flannel button down & jeans that were a few sizes too sizes too big. Daryl tried in vain to ignore how cute it made her look.

"Your turn," she said as she finished refilling the tub, Daryl begrudgingly snatched the clothes from her & shut the bathroom door with a light slam. He eased himself into the tub, admitting how good it felt as he soaped himself off, starting at his head & working downward. Once he was finished, he studied himself in the mirror as he got dressed. His face, minus the layers of dirt looked ten years younger; even he had to admit that it felt good to be clean for a change.

"Better?" Isobel said as he emerged, not taking her eyes off the whittling she was working on Daryl grunted in reply as he plopped down on the opposite side of the couch, she looked sharply at him, his heavy action almost causing her to mess up her whittling.

"What do you miss most about the world?" Isobel said, breaking the silence, her eyes not leaving her artwork. "Dead people not trying to eat ya… you?" "TV." She said with a smile, he chuckled. "Never had a TV growing up." "I was addicted to TV, I miss DIY network." She said, smiling sadly. Suddenly, a sound from outside silenced them.

Isobel's eyes darted to the door, which to her relief, was locked. Her blood ran cold as she heard the telltale shuffling gait & the groaning of walkers. In one quick move, Daryl grabbed her by the arm & pulled her behind the couch, there they crouched, Daryl's arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders as they stole a glance around the edge of the couch.

"Looks like they're just passing through." He hissed, his breath hot against her ear, despite the direness of the situation, his action sent bolts of electricity through her body. He took notice off how the cold weather seemed to slow them down drastically meaning if they had to, they might have a chance to make it to the car.

"It's ok, girl. I got your back." He said with surprising gentility he felt her trembling against him probably from a mixture of adrenaline & fear. She turned to look at him & blushed as she realized how close their faces were. Somehow his hand had found its way behind her head, gently slipping it beneath her loose ponytail.

"Daryl…" she breathed his name in exhale, caught up in the moment. The walkers outside, the end of the world, none of that seemed to matter anymore as she got lost in his deep blue eyes. A growl escaped his throat as his other hand gripped her behind the neck & crashed his lips against hers, overcome with desire, he forced his tongue into her mouth.

Lack of air finally forced them to part, Daryl's eyes suddenly grew wide & he checked around the corner, but he saw no more walkers & they didn't hear anything else, Isobel glanced at Solo, who was now snoring quietly. Daryl sat back awkwardly, embarrassed he had let his lust overcome him & unsure of what to do next.

"I'll sleep on the floor, you take the couch, we need to stay up front… we need to be able to see what's goin' on." He said as he grabbed an extra blanket & pillow, the look of desire & lust was gone from his eyes & he was back to his good ole' surly, sullen self.

Isobel crinkled her nose in frustration, man this guy sure ran hot & cold, not her though; just the mere thought of their earlier interaction sent white hot bolts of lust & desire throughout her body, she crossed her arms over her chest moodily as she glanced at Daryl, she could barely make out his snoring form in the pale light of the winter moon. _'Jerk.'_ She pouted as she turned away from him in an attempt to get some sleep.

_Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews!_

_Loveorpain: see told ya there'd be more Daryl ^_^_

_Guest/KSCHU02: I myself don't necessarily hate Lori myself though the way she treats her son like he's four years old still is slightly annoying, I imagined that my CHARACTER wouldn't get on with her at all, which is why she kind came off like the bad guy LOL_

_SPEEDIE22: Thanks, reading back I now think it fledged a little at the start, but it flows nicely now I think ^_^ _


	21. Chapter 21

**The walking dead: the dead files chapter 21**

**Disclaimer: I don't own.**

"Hey." Rick said as he found Carol sitting at the booth in the kitchenette of the RV that next morning, looking forlornly out the window. "Don't worry, Daryl's a survivor, I'm sure he's ok." He said as he put a hand on her shoulder, she smiled sadly up at him. "I know, but I still worry, he means a lot to me, I don't know what I would do if I… lost him too." She said, tears welling in her eyes.

"We should get going; if we stay here any longer the geeks are going to be onto us." Glenn said, Rick nodded, he ran his hand through his lengthening hair as he walked slowly to the front of the bus & slid into the driver's seat.

He stalled for as long as he could at every stop they made because every mile they traveled put distance between them & Daryl & Isobel. But he didn't have a choice, he couldn't stay longer than two days & as much as he hated it, he also had people he was charged with keeping safe.

Isobel's eyes snapped open to the feeling of someone's hands on her shoulders, she sat bolt upright, clutching the hilt of her hunting knife that was strapped to her thigh. "Easy, Annie Oakley, its just me." Daryl's voice said as the cabin & his face came into focus, she took in a deep breath as she waited for her heart rate to return to its normal rhythm.

"Come on, we need to get goin'." He said grumpily, she swung her legs over the couch & saw that Daryl had already packed a bag he had found full of the remaining canned goods & other non-perishables. "Okay." She said as they loaded the Prius & started off down the road again.

"Well, folks, welcome to Mexico." Rick said as they passed under the huge sign that read 'Bienvenido a México' they took the inbound lanes, as the outbound were choked with cars of people attempting to flee the infection. "There's no end to it." Maggie breathed as she studied the scene, watching as a few walkers emerged from the pile of vehicles, their arms grabbing uselessly at them as they passed by.

"Let me drive, I stayed in Mexico for a few months a while back on business, I think I can still remember how to get around." Andrea said, Rick vacated the wheel to her. "Well, it's finally happened." Glenn said, his gaze out the window as Rick sat across from him in the kitchenette booth. "We finally have a world where there are no borders, no racism, & no wars over religion. Too bad it took something like this to make us realize that none of that shit mattered." "Yep." Rick drawled slowly as they passed a few walkers trudging along the road.

"So, where are we going?" Maggie asked Andrea. "Down toward Acapulco, there's a lot of old haciendas down there, most of them have tall brick walls around them with heavy iron gates, we might be able to hold up there for a while. Besides, the harbor isn't too far from here, if things go to shit its close enough to make a run for it." She said.

"Jesus Christ, Daryl, we can't see our hand in front of our faces out here!" Isobel said as they struggled to see through the blinding dust storm. "Fuck!" Daryl cursed as a momentary break in the cloak of sand revealed a huge cactus; he jerked the wheel to the left, the car's right side mirror breaking off as they raked by.

"Pull over Daryl… _now_!" Isobel ordered, Daryl rounded on her, the volcano that was his temper threatening to erupt, with a bellow of anger he gripped her arm painfully. "I swear to god, woman, if you don't…" He was stopped dead when he felt the cold steel edge of her hunting knife against her throat. "You do what?" She said, her voice equally dangerous.

She didn't cry & cower like most women; she didn't whine & whimper that he was hurting her & use her tears to make him feel like a jerk. She instead played on his own sense of mortality, which was becoming very real to him as the sharp edge of her blade began to cut into his neck. "You should know me better than that by now, Daryl Dixon. I like you n' all, but if you hurt me, I'll make damn sure to hurt you tenfold." She said.

He released her arm roughly, leaving the marks of his fingers he was sure would bruise tomorrow as she sheathed her knife. he gave her a murderous look as he dabbed his hand against his sore neck & didn't come back with any blood. "I didn't cut you, I could have, but I didn't." "Look…" she said after a long bout of uncomfortable silence. "We can't stay out here, we have to find somewhere to ride this storm out or we're gonna get buried." She said, choosing her words carefully.

"Saw a barn up ahead, we'll stay there." Daryl replied gruffly as he put the car into gear.

"Oh… WOW!" Carl said as they all craned their necks against the windshield to take in the beauty of the hacienda as they idled through the front gate. "Glenn, T Dog, help me close this." Rick said, they struggled against the gate to no avail. "It was probably electric at one time, let me see if I can release the locking mechanism." Glenn said as he opened the control box next to the gate, sweat poured off his brow despite the crisp winter day as with shaking hands, he cut a couple of the wires.

"Try it now." He said, with a groan, the gate began to move just as walkers began to emerge from the various houses. "What if there are any in here?" Carol said nervously, "we can take care of those, what I don't want is more getting in." Rick replied as he wrapped a chain tightly around the gate locked it together with a bull snap. "Everyone take a weapon & spread out, remember no guns, only close, quiet kills, we don't want to attract any more attention to ourselves then we need to." Rick ordered.

Isobel cursed against the bite of the sand as she struggled against the barn's rusty door. It finally gave with a mighty jolt backward, almost pitching her forward into the sand, once Daryl had pulled the Prius inside, he jumped out, covering his face with his scarf & together, they pulled it closed.

The atmosphere of the barn was an eerie quiet despite the roar of the storm outside. "Shit! I've got sand in places where sand ain't supposed to go." She said irritably as she pulled off her jacket & vest & shook them out, she heard a telltale groan behind her. She gritted her teeth as she drew her colt, spun around & put down the three walkers in the barn without a blink.

"_So_ not in the mood." She said, Daryl shook his head & chuckled in spite of himself. She unsnapped her shirt & removed it, leaving her clad only in her bra. "Jesus, woman! _Warn_ a guy before you go doin' somethin' like that!" He said, his face turned a shade of red she didnt htink possible for a human being as he quickly turned away, back facing her. "Oh, my apologies, I didn't realize I was in the company of a priest or a monk." She said wryly with a laugh.

Daryl grunted in frustration as he stalked off to have a look around as she proceeded to change clothes, he might be an asshole, but he was no peeping Tom. He discovered a latter that went up to the hay loft, he squinted in an effort to peer through the darkness as his eyes adjusted. "It's clear, a voice suddenly came from somewhere in the dark. "Jesus, woman, you tryin' to give me a heart attack?" he said as she helped him the rest of the way up the latter.

The loft, because of the hay & the fact that warm air rose was considerably warmer than the drafty barn below. She tossed his sleeping bag & blanket to him. "Doesn't look like this storm's gonna let up anytime soon." She said as she walked toward the window. Suddenly, the hay covered floor beneath her gave way. "Christ!" Daryl cursed as he dove forward onto his stomach & caught her by the hands.

"Oh shit!" Isobel cursed as she looked around her, it had been a rotten place in the floor, eaten away by termites into a large enough hole for her to fall clean through. Below her dangling feet she could see their car, better than twenty feet down. Daryl grunted with effort as he tried in vain to pull her up, the stress of the situation was causing both of their hands to sweat… & he was losing his grip.

_Author's Note: Cliffhanger! I'm bad I know LOL._

_So many new faves! I'm glad so many ppl are liking my story, I hope it continues to deliver ^_^_


	22. Chapter 22

**The walking Dead: the dead files chapter 22**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, okay?**

There wasn't much in the way of supplies or food in the vast mansion, it must have been picked clean by looters when everything started, but they had a nice store of supplies in the bus & they were pleasantly surprised to discover a small orchard in the back yard. "Peaches!" Carl cried excitedly as he ran forward & picked some. Rick smiled to himself, daring to hope that they had finally found a relative safe haven amidst this dangerous world.

"Shit!" Daryl said, he could feel her hands slipping out of his, the look of terror he saw when she locked eyes with him however, instilled new resolve in him. "Put yer arms around my neck, lock em' & hold tight." He said as he leaned forward, she wordlessly did as she was told, too gripped in fear to speak, she had always hated heights, it was a phobia she could never shake.

With a loud grunt, he thrust himself backward, pulling Isobel with him, vaulting her out of the hole & on top of him, knocking him onto his back. He sat up quickly as she gripped him in a tight hug, her body trembling from the ordeal. "Easy, girl, you're ok, I got ya." He said, his voice gentle against her ear as he wrapped his arms around her in a tight bear hug.

"This place, it must've been a bed & breakfast at one time, it's beautiful." Beth said. "It's big enough for everyone to have their own bedroom." Rick said. "Glenn, T Dog & I will stay downstairs, the ladies & families can have the upstairs." He ordered, everyone got busy, not daring to ask why he wasn't staying with Lori.

"Daryl tried not to look disappointed when Isobel suddenly released her hold on him, she glanced at the hole she had fallen through & shook her hands out to the side, as though she had just touched an electric fence. "Whew!" she blew out, shaking her head. "How's that for action, huh?" she said with a smile. "Guess I should've been more careful about where I step." She said as she walked to (albeit carefully) to the window of the loft, swung her legs over the side & lit a cigarette.

"That makes what… three times you've saved my life? Four? We keep going like this & I'll never be able to pay you back." She said as she took a long drag, careful not to let any of the hot ashes or embers fall to the dusty, hay laden floor. Ideas of how she could pay him back slid their way into Daryl's thoughts like a toxic slime, he angrily pushed them out. "This really is it, isn't it? The end of the world." She said as she ground her cigarette against the seal of the window & tossed it out to be carried away by the raging storm. "Hmm." He grumbled in agreement as he sat opposite her.

"You never told me what ya were doin' out in California, I don' think ya went out there to be an EMT." It was her turn to blush, Daryl tried to ignore how cute it looked on her, but he couldn't. "I only did that to pay the rent, I went out there to be a star." She said with a wink. "Actor?" she shook her head. "Singer."

"You good?" She shrugged. "No one out there seemed to think so, made a few tapes but my style was more old school rocky type, guess it didn't meld well with this new contemporary crap they're real big on out there. I got a bite or two but they wanted me change my image & go all pop & shit, I told them to get bent." He chuckled as he sat back. "Well, let's hear some." She furrowed her brow unsure of what he was asking.

"Sing." He said shortly, the color drained from her face. "No wonder you never made it." He said with a laugh after a moment of silence between them, she made a face as she threw her empty water bottle at him. "You said ya didn't think ya could repay me, well, this is the way I want to be repaid… sing." He said, she swallowed, this wasn't what she had in mind.

"Come on, girl. Carl used to go on about how good ya sing all the time, so he's good enough to sing for but I'm not?" Daryl said, trying unsuccessfully to keep the hurt out of his voice. "It's not that." She said, not meeting his intense gaze, he said nothing, & they sat there for what seemed like a fortnight with her refusing to meet his intense stare.

After what seemed like a lifetime, he stood. "Forget it." he said, the disappointment in his face could be heard in his voice. "He isn't you." Her voice was barely audible, even against the silence. He turned sharply to face her. "Huh?" she took a deep breath. "Carl… he's just a kid, he isn't you." She said as she stood & faced the window. "He… he… doesn't mean to me what you do." She said as she crossed her arms in front of her uncomfortably.

In the blink of an eye, Daryl was in front of her, pinning her with that intense blue-eyed stare of his, she rubbed her arms as goose bumps rose on them; she felt so exposed, like his gaze had the ability to see all the way to her very soul. While his heart hammered against his chest; did she mean what he thought she did?

She knew there was no going back now, as her mother always said, she made her bed, now she had to lie in it. She blew out a sigh "I… care for you Daryl Dixon… a lot. In fact… I think I'm… falling in love with you." Her tall, lean form deflating with the emotional effort the confession took. He took a large step toward her, leaving no more space between them. "Do ya mean that?" He said softly, she met his intense gaze. "Yes." She said with finality, he gripped her shoulders & pulled her into a kiss.

"Hey, you ok?" Andrea asked as she joined Rick at the glassless window on the first landing of the stairs, they watched as walkers milled around, oblivious to their presence. "Do you think they can get in here?" She asked, he shook his head. "Not unless they can scale a twenty foot wall." He said, she couldn't help but notice the coldness to his voice.

"Rick… is everything ok?" She was shocked when he broke into quiet sobs. "It's Lori, she… its over… between us." He said, breathing deep in an effort to compose himself, this was the last thing she expected from Rick of all people. "I'm sorry to hear that, Rick, I really am. Lori doesn't know what she's losing, you're a great man & a good leader. You do your best in a dying world." She said. Rick smiled as he squeezed her shoulder briefly. "Thanks."

Daryl broke off their kiss & scooped Isobel into his arms, he gently laid her down on top of her sleeping bag, only breaking their kiss long enough to remove each other's shirts. Amidst their passion, they hadn't noticed, nor cared that the storm had died down. Suddenly, they froze as they heard the telltale scratching & groaning sounds of walkers against the locked doors of the barn. Isobel sat up, a murderous look on her beautiful face.

"Oh no… not _this_ time." She said. Clad in only her bra & jeans, she drew her revolver & screwed the silencer on. She leaned out the window & fired, each shot hitting its mark, dropping three walkers where they stood. "Now… where were we?" she said as she set her revolver atop a stack of hay. Daryl wrapped her tightly in his arms & kissed her feverishly, desire burning deep in his eyes. She fell back, pulling him with her, never breaking their kiss.

"She moaned & sighed indiscernible things, her breath hot against his ear as he nipped & kissed every inch of exposed skin, his desire was now an unstoppable, raging inferno. She hooked her long legs around his back & kicked her boots off as he unbuttoned her jeans & yanked them roughly down her legs, breaking contact only long enough for her to kick them off. She laughed at his shock over his discovery that she wasn't wearing any underwear. "What? It's not like I can run down to Wal-Mart & pick up six pair these days." She said with a laugh, a growl escaped him as his mouth crashed down onto hers.


	23. Chapter 23

**The walking dead, the dead files: chapter 23**

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & CLAIM nothing.**

"Hey." Isobel said as she awoke, snuggled against Daryl's chest, her arm draped over his stomach, his wrapped around her shoulders. "Hmm." He said as he craned his neck to see the position of the sun. "We'd better get goin' before it gets too late." His tone not matching the urgency his words implied. "D' we have to?" She hissed against his throat as she placed a sensual kiss there, she smiled as she felt him shutter in response. "God, yer killin' me, woman." He said as she turned his face toward hers & brought her lips to his.

Desire quickly overtook them again as she rubbed her thigh against the inside of his under the blanket, with a growl he flipped over so he crouched over her, she smiled as she erotically caressed his inner thigh with her knee, the sensation drove him mad, he gripped her hips & captured her mouth with his as two bodies, & two souls, of two people met for a second time.

"Well, I'm glad we're comfortable here because I don't think we're leaving anytime soon, boss man." T Dog said as they looked out the first landing window at the large hoard of walkers that had gathered outside their gate. "You're sure they can't climb? Maggie said in a small voice. "How the fuck should I know, I don't think so." He said, his tone harsher then he intended. He immediately felt remorseful as Maggie stepped back & hugged herself, a tear slipping down her cheek. Glenn slipped his arm around her shoulders & gave Rick a hard look. "I'm sorry I just… I'm doin' the best I _can_." He said with emphasis.

Daryl & Isobel dressed in silence, he dressed quickly, stealing glances at her as she hiked her jeans over her lean muscular thighs & pulled on her flannel button down, he noticed that she didn't bother to put her bra back on. "Damn thing's too far gone, wire's been pokin' me since we left the cabin. Besides, its winter time, no one's going to notice." "No one except me." He said with a smirk.

She pulled her holster around her waist & cinched up the buckle. He couldn't hide a smile as she pulled out her revolver & spun the barrel around, filling the empty chambers. In her other holster, rested her dessert eagle, a pocket rocket he suddenly found himself very interested in seeing her use. "Let's get goin' they're comin'." Daryl said as they slid down the latter to the Prius. Daryl slid open the door & grimaced against the chill of the dessert winter day, half a dozen walkers loomed in the distance, their figures silhouetted against the blinding winter sun.

Isobel took aim with her revolver & took a couple of them out. "The hell, woman?!" Daryl said, she shrugged. "General principles." She said as she slid in the passenger seat. "What r' you waiting for, Christmas?" He let out an exasperated sigh as he slid in behind the wheel & jammed the car into drive.

"Powdered eggs & SPAM?" Rick said as they all sat down at the table the next morning, Carol smiled apologetically. "One of the only things that wasn't bad, I know it's not like the real thing." She said, he made an attempt at a reassuring smile. "Thank you, Carol, it's great." He said as they all ate in silence, trying not to listen to the guttural groans of the ever growing crowd of walkers outside.

"We're going to have to go on a supply run soon if we're going to be staying here; we're almost out of food." Glenn said to Rick as they sat in front of the vacant fireplace. Rick rubbed his face wearily; the weight of his leadership responsibilities was weighing ever more heavily on his shoulders. "That's not possible, you've seen how many walkers are out there, & we can't risk them seeing anyone scale the fence." Rick said. "Don't worry, man. We'll figure out something." T Dog said. "I hope Daryl & Isobel find us before we have to leave again." Rick said through his hands.

"Welcome to Mexico." Isobel said darkly, glancing momentarily at the sign as they passed under it, she drew her revolver as walkers emerged from the pileup of cars at the border exit. "Poor sumbitches, they never had a chance. Infection musta spread through before they could get out." Daryl said. "Which way now?" "We'll keep goin' west." "You sure?" He shrugged. "Worked good for us so far." He replied.

"Hey." Isobel gestured with the nose of her revolver as they crested a small hill overlooking what must have once been a rich neighborhood. Thousands of walkers were gathered around one of the houses, their decaying hands clawing uselessly against the tall stone wall. "If I had any money left, I'd be willing to bet it that they're in that house. But if we're going to get in, we're gonna have to ditch the Prius." She said, he smiled at her. "Never liked that thing anyway." He replied.

The good thing about the Prius was that it was quiet; they idled up to it as close as they dared. "What we need is a diversion." Isobel hissed as she put the gearshift into neutral & straightened the steering wheel, she let off the emergency brake & the car began rolling down the hill, picking up speed as it went, he coasted passed the crowd of walkers & crashed, quite loudly into a group of palm trees a few yards off.

With a collective groan, the walkers began to stumble towards what they saw as a possible source of food. "Come on, stay close to me." Daryl said as they crept up to the edge of the wall, he peered around to make sure the walker herd was still distracted. "Up ya go." He said, she hesitated, biting her lip. "I'll be right behind ya, just go!" he hissed angrily as he held out his hands. She put her foot into them & he boosted her onto the wall.

She fished a climbing rope out of her bag, wrapped it around the outlying branch of a nearby pecan tree & tossed it down to him. "Come on, they're losin' interest!" she said, not able to keep the panic out of her voice, everything seemed to go in slow motion as she watched him scale the wall, inching ever closer to her outstretched hand until she was able to grab it. She hoisted him up next to her just as a couple of walkers came around the corner.

She fastened the rope to another branch & he used it to swing down. "Get the rope, I'll catch ya." He said, she dropped into a sitting position & slid smoothly into Daryl's arms. They stood there for a moment, locked in each other's gaze. "Nice hands." She said.

The door burst open & everyone jumped to their feet, weapons drawn. A collective cheer resounded through the group as they rushed forward & embraced Isobel & Daryl. "What the hell, man. I thought we'd never see you guys again!" T Dog said as they embraced like brothers, Isobel stood there awkwardly until she was thrown back by an impact.

She looked down to see Carl's small frame, his arms wrapped tightly around her middle. "I thought I'd never see you again." He said, his voice muffled into her jacket. She smiled as she ruffled his brushy hair. 'Me too, Bud, me too." She said as the other women embraced her. "Nice to see you again, girl." Andrea said. "Nice to be seen." Isobel replied. "Hey we can hold hands & kiss later, right now is out chance to get out of here while those geeks are distracted." Glenn said.

They crept to the gate & peered out. "We'll never get the bus out of here, we're gonna have to leave it. Andrea, which way's the harbor?" Isobel asked. "Bout a mile that way." She said, pointing to the left. "Get ready guys & girls, we're gonna have to make a run for it." Isobel said.

_Author's Note: whew! I struggled with this one guys, because this was the one where Daryl & Isobel consummate their relationship finally & it was hard because I was trying to keep Daryl in character but I had to write him in love essentially, which means I also had to write him out of character… but still keep him in character… you know? & that was a hard one. Writing surly, sullen moody rough around the edges Daryl Dixon was easy… but writing him in wuv… that was a tough one -_-_


	24. Chapter 24

**The walking dead: the dead files chapter 24**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

Rick unwound the chain from the gate as quietly as possible, but funny thing it was that the more a person tried to be quiet, the more noise they made, like when you were trying to sneak past your parents' bedroom after a night of partying when you were a kid. Isobel smiled to herself at the irony of that fact as she helped Rick slide the gate back just enough for all of them to squeeze through.

"Move, move!" he hissed as they made their way down the street carefully, their weapons drawn in case they got noticed. But the walkers were too interested in breaking into the Prius to notice them, Isobel recalled that she had left some supplies behind in the trunk & the walkers were after it, they were starving & they could smell the spoiling food, some had noticed them but chose to ignore them in favor of the easier meal that couldn't run away. Isobel shuddered… they _were_ learning.

They reached the harbor & their hearts sank as they found it crawling with walkers. "Shit! There's too many of em' they'll be on it before we have time to find a working boat." Rick hissed as he peaked around the crumbling corner of a building. Isobel's sharp eyes caught sight of a bicycle laying against the curb, still in working order, long abandoned by its owner.

"I've got an idea; I have some of that jarred hog in my pack, that shit gives off a strong smell; I'll take that bike & get them to follow me." "No!" Daryl interjected, ignoring him, she continued talking. "That should give you enough of a chance to find a working boat." "What about you?" Rick asked. "I'll meet you at the edge of the harbor where it dumps out into the Gulf, if I don't show two days after you get there… leave without me."

"I'm goin' wit' ya." Daryl's voice entered the silence. "& where are you going to ride, on the handle bars?" she said, trying to make light of the situation, his hard gaze didn't waver. "If I have to." He replied, she shook her head as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "Daryl these people need you to protect them… more than I do." Daryl looked at the ground in front of them, fire burning deep in his stunning blue eyes. Not knowing, or caring that the groups' collective gaze was now upon them.

She reached to her left side & drew her dessert eagle, her gaze not leaving his face. She brought it, muzzle facing the sky between their faces. "You asked me why I carried this, remember?"

Before I met ya'll, I was alone, I was a good survivor, but I knew that someday my luck would run out, that I would end up… bit." she trailed off, the groups collective gaze dropped as Daryl's shot up to meet hers. "This…" she said harshly as she shook the gun in emphasis before shoving it back in the holster. "…is what that is for."

Rick cleared his throat awkwardly as a few in the group fidgeted uncomfortably, Isobel looked at her target, the bike & saw she had a clear chance to reach it, the herd of walkers had begun to meander the opposite direction of the boat dock. Just what she wanted… maybe she just might be able to pull this off.

"Here's my chance, I've gotta go." She said as they all stood, suddenly she felt rough hands close around the side of her face & warm lips met hers & the world fell away for a moment as she & Daryl wrapped their arms around each other. "You'd better be careful, Annie Oakley, you hear?" he said as he ran his thumbs across her cheeks. He didn't come out & say it, but she could see what he felt for her burning deep within his eyes, she smiled. "I'll do my best."

He stepped back from her, allowing her passage & she crept forward. "Don't worry, man. She'll be ok, she's a survivor." Daryl said nothing, the muscles in his jaw clenched & he ground his teeth as he watched her hop on the bicycle & ride toward the herd. She stopped in the middle of the street, put her fingers to her lips & blew a shrill whistle. "Hey… geeks, over here!" she said, with a collective groan, they turned & began lumbering towards her, each dragging step more determined than the last. "Come on… come on!" she said, peddling only just fast enough to escape them, trying to keep their interest.

"Come on, there's our chance… _move_!" Rick said as ran towards the boat dock, as they ran Daryl stole looks in Isobel's direction, straining to catch one last glance of her, but she was already out of sight, he swore under his breath as they reached the first boat tried it, no luck, it was out of fuel.

Boat after boat they tried with the same result, it was starting to look hopeless, until they came across a small houseboat, barely large enough to hold them all, but it would have to do. Daryl tried the motor & it turned over easily. He shoved the throttle roughly to full & cursed as the motor sputtered & died. "FUCK!" Daryl swore as he pounded his fists against the dashboard of the boat until they were bloody. "Hey… HEY! Rick said as he forced him back. "That's not helping anything, Daryl, hurting yourself isn't going to get us going any faster!" Rick said, Daryl shoved the taller man's arms off him roughly as T Dog took the controls, luckily, the only damage Daryl had done was to himself. Daryl stomped around like an angry bull, his heavy steps shaking the entire boat.

"Don't… pretend like you don't remember… bein' separated from your loved ones, not knowin' if they're dead or alive. I know you do, I see it in yer face." He spat venomously, Rick rounded on him. "That's different, that's my wife n' kid not some…!" Rick trailed off, his hand gesturing wildly in the direction Isobel had gone. His own anger surfacing, he noticed that happening a lot lately. Daryl's fist, fast as lightning connected with Rick's face in a crushing blow, knocking him back into a shocked T Dog.

With a roar, Rick pushed off T Dog & launched himself at Daryl; Hershel stepped between them, his hands outstretched & his face harboring an angry look. "Stop! That's enough fighting!" He said, Daryl threw his hand up & joined Solo at the rear of the boat.

Isobel stole a look behind her, thankful for all those months of running for her life, they had made her legs strong & fit, & even after peddling for a good couple of miles, she wasn't even tired. She reached around with her hand & brought her pack around in front of her, she took out one of the jars of hog. She slid her bike to a halt & threw out the kick stand, she stepped off & started hurtling jar after jar at the herd, she was pleased to see that most of them went for the easy meal leaving only a few to give the slip to.

She mounted her bike & peddled on, looking for a good place to duck into, her legs were strong but she knew she couldn't peddle all the way to the end of the harbor, she would have to find a faster means of transportation. Then, as if sent by God himself, she rounded the next street corner & came face to face with a large indoor motorcycle dealership.

'_Aw, snap!'_ she thought to herself as she pulled the bike around to the back she noticed a latter going up to the roof, it was too high for her to grab, thinking fast, she dug her rope out of her pack & on the first try, was able to wrap it firmly around the bottom rung. She stole a glance around her, still no walkers in sight. She dug into her pack again & pulled out one last jar.

Isobel's stomach wretched when she opened the top, the smell of the contents hitting her like a truck. She poured it over the bike & commenced climbing before she lost what was left in her stomach. One thing she had learned quick was that walkers had a good sense of smell on them… & while they could sniff out a fresh meal, they were able to be repelled at the smell of rotting, decaying meat… she smiled, _'guess road kill does have its uses.'_ She said as she summited the building.

_Thanks for all the reviews & faves guys :) I really appreciate it ^_^ Hope you like this one, I tried I really did :) _


	25. Chapter 25

**The walking dead the dead files chapter 25**

**Disclaimer: I no own.**

The smell from the road kill skunk would repel walkers long enough for her to figure something out, she found the roof had a skylight into the showroom, but breaking it would make sound, quite a lot of sound. Then, she got an idea. If she took the brackets off she might be able to shimmy it to one side enough to slide through.

After what seemed like an eternity of cursing & struggling, she could move it no more, this would have to do, she squeezed her tall, lean frame through the small gap, silently thankful for the apocalypse enforced diet that made her so thin. She cursed as she tore open a gash on her side with her efforts, thin as she was, it was still a tight squeeze.

The impact jarred her bones painfully as she dropped the remaining ten feet to the showroom floor, the carpet burning her knees as she was forced to drop to them to absorb the impact of the landing. She stood with a grimace, she felt the cool wetness of her blood against the fabric of her flannel & was thankful she wasn't out in the open, they would surely have smelled her blood.

She had a look around the show room, taking in the plethora of fine choices in machines that presented themselves to her… all she needed was the keys & if she remembered rightly, they usually kept them in the bosses office. She ground her screwdriver against the locked door & the cheap latch gave easily. Once inside she began rummaging through every drawer in the desk… no keys. _'file cabinet.'_ She thought. The file cabinet proved slightly more stubborn but it also finally gave, albeit breaking her screwdriver in the process.

She rooted around the bottom of each drawer until her hand closed over tinkling, cold metal. _'Yes!'_ she said as he pulled out a large ring filled with keys. She trotted back into the show room, ignoring the throbbing pain in her side, the lack of gas in the tanks narrowed her choice down to two; a Yamaha YZF R1 & a Suzuki Hayabusa… she decided on the Yamaha & ripped its key off the chain.

She straddled the bike & took a deep breath; this was going to be the hard part, getting out of here unnoticed. She could wheel the bike outside & then start it, but what if it didn't start the first time? Then she was screwed, but it was a brand new fucking bike… why wouldn't it start? _'Fuck it'_ she said as she turned the key to on & pushed the throttle button with her heel, the bike fired up immediately & thankfully wasn't too loud at idle, she should be able to walk it out the doors before anything noticed her.

At a trot, she pushed the door open & wheeled the idling bike through, careful not to bang anything… it was a nice bike after all & she wanted to show respect to the thing that was going to get her out of here. She mounted the bike & tossed her long ponytail over her shoulder & was off.

Dawn found Daryl & Solo maintaining their vigil at the rear of the boat; they had been there the entire night, facing the road that dead ended into boat ramps at the edge of the harbor. To their right was the rock wall that kept out the roughest of the wavesSuzuki HayabusaYamaha YZF R1 Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha YZF R1 Yamaha YZF R1. The sunrise over the Gulf was beautiful, but he was in no mood to enjoy it, he ground his teeth as his stomach clenched painfully.

Damn her! Why did she have to be so valiant, so brave, so… amazing. He brought his fist down onto the bench seat as anger welled up inside him as he gripped the side of the boat until his knuckles turned white. Anger at her for doing something so stupid & anger at himself for letting it happen. "Your momma's a bitch, you know?" he said to the dog, Solo merely gazed up at him with those soulful brown eyes. Daryl sighed & found himself wishing he had a dog's patience.

Isobel shook her head against the fog that was trying to invade her mind; she could feel the blood from the gash in her side running down her side, soaking the fabric of her jeans. She could see the lighthouse, she was almost there, she revved the throttle faster, she had to make it before her body gave out on her. she could barely make out the forms of walkers as they stumbled out of buildings, cars & wherever, attracted by the sound. She knew once she hit the dock she wouldn't have much time & she preyed she had enough strength left to run the rest of the way.

"Hey!" Daryl shouted as Solo's ears pricked forward & he let out an anxious whine. "Here she comes!" He yelled, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. "You sure?" T Dog said as they strained to listen over the slapping of the waves against the sides of the boat, Daryl was right, the faint drone of a motor could be heard & sure enough, a lime green Yamaha YZF R1 streaked through the maze of debris.

"Back the fucking boat up!" Daryl bellowed, a small army of hungry walkers followed in her wake at a pretty good clip. Isobel reached the point where the ramp met the water & clamored off the bike, not even bothering to turn it off. With a great leap, she landed heavily on her hands & knees in the middle of the boat. "Hey! Fancy meeting you here." She said as Daryl pulled her into a hug. "You're gonna give me a heart attack, girl." He said as he pulled back to look at her, she gave him a warm smile, then collapsed against him in a heap.

_I have struggled with these later chapters because Daryl & Isobel's relationship is growing & it's hard to write Daryl in love because its not really in character for him, so I try my best to think how he would react if he were in this situation. Hope it's good, R&R please ^_^._


	26. Chapter 26

**The walking dead: the dead files chapter 26**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the characters I create (sorry if I haven't said that before o_O)**

"Bring her over here." Hershel said, Daryl gently laid her on the bottom mattress of a bunk bed in one of the bedrooms at the back of the small houseboat. "Is she bit, or scratched?" Lori asked as she pushed to the front, Daryl shook his head feverishly. "If she were, she wouldn't be here." He said, his eyes darting to the dessert eagle, still snapped in the holster at her left side.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Lori asked, Daryl rounded on her, not liking the tone in her voice. "I said she ain't!" He spat. "Lori, please! This woman just saved all our lives!" Rick said, his tone pleading, Lori gave him a murderous look as she pushed past him. "Yer woman's got ya whipped." Daryl said without meeting Rick's eyes.

"I wouldn't be calling the kettle black, Daryl." Rick retorted. "What the hell's that supposed ta mean?" Daryl said as he rounded on Rick, his eyes flashing with rage. T Dog & Glenn stepped between them. "Daryl! This isn't going to help Isobel, Maggie, Beth, Carol. Get the medical kit, I'm going to need your help if we're going to save this girl's life."

"How is she, doc?" Daryl asked when Hershel emerged from the back bedroom, looking positively exhausted, the time had seemed to crawl by, Daryl hadn't known how long they were in there, but judging by the angle of the moon, it had been at least four hours.

"She's got no bites or scratches to speak of, but that gash, it's deep. I caught a glimpse of the point of her hip bone when I cleaned it & stitched her up. Only time will tell now, but she's lost a lot of blood & I have no way to do a transfusion."

"Can I see her?" Daryl asked, his voice displayed no emotion, but Hershel could see the hurt & worry in his eyes. "Sure, son. But don't expect much in the way of response, we've got her medicated pretty good." Daryl swallowed hard as he entered her room. Isobel lay in the lower half of a bunk bed in the corner of the small bedroom that looked to have once been a kids' room.

"Shoulda let me go with ya, girl." He said softly as he sat on the edge of her bed. He studied her face in the dancing light of the moon from the small window above them, she looked so angelic, he gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear & looked out of the small window at the cloudless night sky & blew out a ragged sigh. "JC..." he whispered "if yer still out there... jus... dont take her too..." he trailed off as he rubbed his face frustratingly.

"How's it going?" Rick asked Andrea early the next morning, she shrugged, her eyes never leaving the bobber on her fishing line. "Caught some small fry, but they're nowhere near enough to feed everyone." Rick smiled in an effort to make light of the situation.

"Whatcha after?" Andrea smiled. "Hope I can snag me a tuna… or a shark." She said with a laugh in an effort to lighten the somber mood. "If we don't catch something soon, we're going to have to dock somewhere & do a supply run." He said. Andrea shook her head. "You think that's smart? With one of our best runners laid up in bed?" Rick's grip tightened on the edge of the boat. "Isobel's going to… be laid up for a while. We may not have a choice." Andrea said nothing as she turned her attention back to her line

Daryl jolted out of a restless sleep in one of the tailgating chairs that had been in the RV; he sat bolt upright, suddenly aware of movement from the direction of the bed. Isobel was reaching for something at her side, trying in vain to move as little as possible… she was no stranger to pain, but even she had to admit that her side hurt like hell. "Whoa girl, easy. What'd ya need?" he said, she replied by handing her dessert eagle to him with shaky hands.

"Take it." she said, reading the questions in his eyes. "You have to promise me something…" she said, pausing to regulate her breathing against the pain. "…If I take a turn for the worst…" "You Won't." Daryl interjected. "If I do…" "You won't, ya hear? & I don't want to hear anything more about it."

"Daryl… shut up & _listen_. This is fucking important now; I will not become one of those… things, walking around without a soul, endangering my friends. You have to promise me, that it that happens, that you will do that for me. I might be unable to do it for myself." She said, her gaze steady, Daryl nodded, refusing to meet her eyes as Rick walked in.

"How you holdin' up?" She managed a smile. "Had better days." She said, Daryl suddenly stood & pushed passed them out the door. Rick watched him go with a puzzled look on his face but didn't ask what of it. "Look, what you did… let's just say I've known cops that weren't half as brave as you." He said as he gently put a hand on her shoulder. Just then, a shout from outside drew his attention.

"Check it out!" Andrea said triumphantly as waved her hands toward a four foot shark that T Dog had harpooned. "Was a fighting son of a bitch." He said as he collapsed onto the bench. "That'll be enough to feed everyone for a week maybe more, long as they don't mind three squares a day of shark." Daryl said as he appeared beside Rick.

"Hey." Carol said quietly as she came into Isobel's room, holding a plate. "Do you think you could eat something?" she nodded & Carol put a couple of pillows behind her shoulders. "My parents, where are my parents?" She suddenly said, Carol shook her head. "Story for another time, eat" "Are they dead?" Carol said nothing, but her face fell. "Please, I have to know… are they dead? I didnt have time to see them before all this happened." Carol didn't reply, a few tears spilled down her cheeks, Isobel nodded in understanding as her own tears began to fall.

"I'm sorry." Carol said, her voice barely above a whisper, Isobel shook her head. "Dad, he had a bad heart, he never could have kept up… & mom, mom wouldn't have left him behind." Carol burst into quiet tears as she embraced Isobel. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She said.

Even though Isobel was crying herself, she felt compelled to comfort the elder woman. "It's ok, I know, I know." She said as Carol released her. "Please, eat." She said as she placed the plate of food in her lap, Daryl gave Isobel a questioning look as she walked quickly past him, drying her tears. "She told me about my parents." Isobel said, Daryl visibly grimaced.

"Rick thought it best Ya didn't know til ya… got better." He said as he sat at the edge of her bed, Isobel crossed her arms, the defiant look flashing in her aquamarine eyes once more. "You can inform Officer Grimes that I do not need to be sheltered."

She was suddenly startled into silence by Daryl's sudden embrace." "Good to have ya back, girl." He released her & handed her back her dessert eagle. "Told ya I wouldn't be needin' this." He said with a wink.


	27. Chapter 27

**The walking dead, the dead files chapter 27**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the characters I create.**

"Come in, Carl." Isobel said the next morning as she finished cleaning her handguns. "How'd you know?" he said as he entered, she merely smiled at him & was taken aback by Carl suddenly throwing his arms around her neck.

"I'm glad you're gonna be ok." He said, his voice muffled against her shoulder. "Don't worry, kid, it'll take more than a sharp piece of scrap metal to take me out. You've been practicing like I taught you?" she asked, he nodded enthusiastically. "Ok, I'll test ya next chance I get." She said, brandishing her pistol at him in mock warning.

"You sure you're well enough to handle it? It's got one hell of a kickback." Rick said as he handed Isobel the 30 – 06. "Please, I've been shooting guns since I was Carl's age, I think I can manage, besides Hershel says a couple more weeks & I'll be good to go." She said as she sat on one of the observation benches. "Andrea, you got any more of that fish you were using as bait?" "Yeah, but I couldn't refrigerate it, it smells something awful." "Even better." She said as she tossed some in the water.

In no time, a flock of seagulls had gathered, Isobel waited until one made a pass over the boat before firing, the bird dropped almost into Andrea's lap. "I'll only shoot enough for tonight's meal since we don't have any way of keeping them cold. These bastard's are like walkers, all they gotta do is smell food & they'll come for miles every time." She said as she picked off one after another until they had enough.

"What'd a say, Doc?" Isobel asked Hershel the next morning as he looked at her stitches. "These are ready to come out, my do you meal marvelously. Are you still in any pain?" "Nah, they just itch like hell." Hershel nodded. "That's a good sign." He replied as he cut the ends of the sutures. "This might be a tad uncomfortable, I had to use fishing line, I didn't have any sutures."

"Do what you gotta do." She said, he cut both ends & the fishing line pulled out easily, Isobel tried not to squirm as the material slid out of her flesh. "Tickles." She said in response to his questioning glance. "So… do I get a clean bill of health or what?" she asked, Hershel nodded, a smile on his face. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Hershel cleared me, come on, let's go." Isobel said as she & Daryl hopped onto the boat ramp somewhere in Florida, she didn't know what city… it didn't matter anymore. "You sure?" He asked. "I wouldn't be out here if I wasn't, I wouldn't endanger anyone else's life, especially yours." She said, "It'll be nice to have ya back, been having to go with _Officer Grimes_. Was close to puttin' one of these through his head." He gestured at her with his crossbow as they came upon a neighborhood.

"Let's check these houses, you got me covered?" "Always." Daryl said as he let his eyes travel slowly up & down her body, she rolled her eyes at him & turned her attention to the door. It was locked but it was nothing a screwdriver & a little finesse couldn't fix. She could've kicked it in, but that would make noise & being they hadn't seen any walkers yet, she wanted to keep it that way.

"Got it!" she hissed as with a soft click, the door swung open & they entered slowly. Isobel in front, her machetes at the ready, the holsters of her side arms unsnapped just in case. They made their way to the kitchen & found it fully stocked, most of the food was perishable, but there was a nice supply of canned goods.

"Always wanted to live in Florida, but I decided on California instead." Isobel said as she put the cans into her duffle bag. "Hmm." Daryl grunted distractedly as he poked around the bathroom, taking a moment to admire the marble Jacuzzi style bathtub; suddenly, he was knocked backward by something heavy.

The back of his head struck the side of the tub as he went down, half ass knocking him out, he struggled to remain conscious as a large male walker bared down on him, its blackened teeth snapping ever closer to his face, he almost wretched at the smell of its putrid breath, then suddenly, the walker froze in mid growl, its dead eyes staring straight ahead, its mouth agape.

With a grunt, Isobel thrust it backward as she yanked her machete out of the back of its head. The walker crashed into the opposite wall, dead for good this time. "You ok?" she said worriedly as she knelt beside Daryl. "Fuckin' thing, caught me by surprise, didn't even hear it comin'." He said as she helped him into a sitting position & checked the back of his head "Yikes, you got quite a gash back here but it's not deep, let me see if there's anything in here to clean it with."

They're starting to get smarter on how that hunt us." Isobel said as she poured some peroxide she had found on his wound. "I know." He said through gritted teeth at the sting of the peroxide. "Becomin' more like predators." He said as she dabbed some antiseptic on the wound. "Come on, up you go." She said as she put his arm around her shoulders, overcome with a sudden rush of desire, he responded by pulling her into a passionate kiss.

"Are you crazy… we… we can't do this here! … walkers…" She trailed off, not being able to manage a reasoning tone as Daryl feverishly kissed & nibbled her neck. "…locked the door when we came in." he breathed against her neck as he set his crossbow beside them & ripped his shirt off. She knew she should protest, they did have a job to do, but who was she kidding. She never had the power to resist him & it wasn't like they got any alone time on that crowded boat.

"Hey, found something for ya." Isobel said as she showed Carl a .22 Remington rifle. "No way!" He said as he grabbed at it, she held it above her head. "Whoa, partner, first I'm gonna teach you every which way around this gun & all guns before I turn you loose with this thing. Remember this can _hurt_ someone in the wrong hands & using one should not be taken lightly." She said.

"You don't think they can swim, do you?" Andrea asked Rick as they all sat on the observation deck, the boat was anchored about fifty feet off shore, through her binoculars, a herd of at least fifty or so walkers had gathered at the edge of the docks, staring right back at them. "Let's hope not." T Dog replied.

"Dang, boy, you're a quick learner, took me three tries my first time before I could remember how to do it, you want to practice this a lot, never know when you'll have to do it in a pinch & you don't want to have to think about it. Now what'd say we get some practice in?"

"I still don't know if I'm ok with this, Rick." Lori said as they watched Carl & Isobel walk to the rear of the boat, guns in hand. "Listen, Lori. This world we live in, Carl is going to have to learn how to survive in it, he can still learn that without losing his sense of humanity, Isobel's a good person. She'll teach him right or else I wouldn't have asked her. She is the first real role model he's had since Shane…" he trailed off as he averted her gaze.

"Isobel? I… once heard someone say that taking a life… any life is hard … is that true?" "Yep, It's not as easy as TV & movies make it look, it changes you. It makes you feel different about yourself. It will teach you instincts, & those instincts will tell you if you are in a 'them or me' situation. Because I'm not going to lie to you, Carl in this world there is a chance that at some point you will have to fire upon a living person whose intent is to harm you & those you are with. But… for now we'll practice on walkers. In a situation like this, their slow & easy to kill." She said as she came to stand behind him.

"Hold it like this." She said as she angled the small rifle for him, her hands over his. "Look straight down the barrel, that's your line of sight, if your target is moving, like this thing is here." She said as he, guided by her hands followed the slow lumbering gait of the pacing walker with the barrel of the gun. "Then you want to try to put your bullet a hair in front of him." She said as she squeezed the trigger. "Got em'!" Carl said excitedly as the walker dropped like a stone.

"Hey, can we talk?" Lori about faced to see Isobel standing behind her, her hand resting casually on the handle of her revolver at her hip, Lori wordlessly nodded. "Look… I know you don't like me, & probably don't want to hear what I have to say, but hear me out, please. You probably know this already but you have a super kid there. He wants to be useful so bad, he's not a cold hearted kid, not like you think he's become. He told me that he wanted to learn because he thinks if he had known how to use weapons, he could have saved Sophia." Lori said nothing, but tears welled up in her eyes as she listened.

"I've taught a lot of kids about gun safety, & I'm not just saying this when I say that he is one of the most responsible & fast learners I have ever taught. Like it or not there will come a time where he will have to be the one protecting you… or himself… don't you want him to be ready? Don't you want him to know how to be safe around guns so another accident like the one with the deer doesn't happen again?"

Lori swallowed hard as she spoke. "Look… I'm sorry for the way I've been acting towards you, it's just… they grow up so fast in normal circumstances & it seems in this world, that rate seems to have doubled. I guess I didn't take it very well." She said as she offered a smile, Isobel waved her off. "No worries girl. I don't hold grudges." Lori nodded to her & excused herself.

"What was that about?" Daryl asked once they were alone. "Oh, she just apologized for her earlier behavior is all." She said, Daryl snorted. "Lori Grimes apologized? Well… fuck me runnin'." Isobel laughed. "Yeah… shocked me too, but whatever, I don't hold anything against the woman, she only wants what's best for her kid, I was just makin' sure she understood our goal was the same." Daryl put his arm around her shoulders. "Yer too good for this world, ya know that?" she chuckled. "If you say so."


	28. Chapter 28

**The walking dead: the dead files chapter 28**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I did not create.**

_Author's note: those that might read this & are from or live in New York City, please forgive me if I get anything wrong, I have never visited there before so I have nothing but maps off of Google to go from when I wrote this part of the story._

"Isobel, are you sure that you want to do this?" Rick said as they idled down the Hudson river. "Son of a bitch, that place is bound to be overrun with walkers." Andrea said. "I know, but he's my brother, he's all I have left, I have to try." Isobel said. "I lost my sister to a walker attack a while back, but, if I thought she was held up somewhere, I'd be doing exactly what you're doing." Andrea said.

"Final time asking, you sure you want in on this gig? Likely to be a suicide mission." Daryl shook his head as he hopped the short gap onto the street in front of grand central station. "Shoot, girl. You'd best know by now, you ain't goin' nowhere without me." He said. She gave him a beaming smile as he helped her across.

"Where you wanna start?" He asked, as they scoured the street, bows at the ready, rifles slung over their shoulders for good measure. "Well, his apartment was in Brooklyn, that's the East River Bridge, we'll cross there." She said. "How come you know your way around here so well?"

"I've visited my brother a few times, he insisted that I get to know the city a little in case I get lost. He was worried because in this place, getting lost can wind you up in the wrong part of town… quick." She said.

"I say we find us a working car, cause its going to be a long walk if we don't." she said as she check inside every car that looked workable until she found one. "Oh, hell no, you can't expect me to cruise around town in _this_?! The Prius was bad enough!" Daryl said as she came across a Smart car that looked like it would start.

"Daryl, this is NY, gas was so horrendous here that everyone either took the subway, rode a bike, or… drove cars like this. But if you want I can hotwire that." She said as she gestured to a small 'geek mobile' scooter, he gave her an angry look, but didn't say anything more. "Go on, I'll cover you." He said as he gestured to the car. "Oh, I'm sure you will." She said as she flashed him a suggestive smile.

Daryl felt the heat rise in his cheeks despite the cold northern air, he still wasn't entirely comfortable with the effect she had on him, maybe it was because he still couldn't make sense of it. He never knew love as a kid, so how the fuck was he supposed to know what it felt like? DID he love her? He still didn't know, sure he cared if something happened to her, he cared a lot, enough to ask Jesus Christ not to take her from him.

He knew is that a simple smile could make him blush, an accidental brush from her arm set him on fire, & single thought about her sent waves of… something he had never felt before flooding his body, desire? No he'd felt that before, this was desire & something more. So… was it love? He shook his head at himself, he had come a long way from Merle's teachings about the only thing women were good for… Merle… if he could see him now, he'd call him a ball-less pussy.

"Got it, you comin' or what?" she said, he snapped back to reality to see her sitting in the drivers' seat with an expectant look on her face. "Yeah." He grunted as he slid in. "Now I remember why I hated these things, no room for tall people." She said as she slid the seat back as far as it would go to accommodate her long legs. "Still can't believe we ain't seen no walkers." Daryl said. "Let's hope it stays that way." Isobel replied.

"Here, it's cold out here." Andrea said as she handed Carol an extra jacket & a cup of hot tea, Carol smiled as she took both. "Do you think they'll find him?" Andrea asked. "Hope so, one way or another, because it's the not knowin' that kills you. I wouldn't want anyone to go through what I went through with Sophia…" Carol trailed off as she turned to Andrea. "Does it ever stop? Does the hurt ever go away?" "No, you just learn how to deal with it." Andrea replied.

"Aww, shit." Daryl said as they came up on a pile of cars that had to have been ten feet high. "Told ya we should've stolen a fucking four wheel drive." He said as he punched the dash, she waved him off. "Please, like I said, there's a reason city folks like these things." She said as she took to the curb & easily squeezed by the huge pile of cars, as they passed, she caught glimpses of corpses buried in the rubble, she chose not to look.

"That it?" Daryl asked her, she dug in her pocket & pulled out a slip of worn paper with an address written on it. "Supposed to be, but I'm not totally sure, everything's so fucked up, nothing looks like it should anymore & I'm all disoriented." She said. "Well, there's only one way to find out." He said as they pried open the door to the building.

Inside was so dark it took their eyes a long while to adjust from the bright winter day outside. "His apartment should be on the first landing." Isobel whispered as they crept up the stairs, her in the lead, twin machetes in hand.

They reached his apartment but it was locked good & she couldn't pry it open. "I can't get this, not without making a lot of racket." She hissed at him, they both whirled around as they heard a noise behind them. Isobel looked at Daryl & he nodded at her, letting her know he had her covered.

They followed the noise, it didn't sound like a walker, the gait was too quick. They made turn after turn in pursuit until that came up on a dead end to the stairwell. "Stop right there." A voice said from behind them. "Fuck." Daryl said as they turned around, a tall, thin man had a pistol aimed at their heads. "Do you mind telling me what you are doing here?" he asked. "Looking for my…" she suddenly grabbed a tomahawk & sent it whizzing past the man's head into the forehead of a walker.

The man jumped back as he pitched forward between them, he looked at her with a mixture of awe & gratitude. "Thanks." He said. "Don't mention it." she said as she retrieved her weapon from the dead walker. "Like I was sayin' I'm looking for my brother. His name's Bobby Garrison." The man beamed. "Your in luck, lady. "Bobby, get over here, see what I found!" he said, Isobel's heart jumped into her throat & she & her brother rushed forward & embraced each other.

Suddenly, groans & shuffling gaits could be heard & by the sound, there were a lot of them. "Know a quick exit?" Isobel asked. "Follow us." Bobby said as they headed for the fire escape. "Oh… shit!" Isobel hissed as they all saw an army of walkers, half the city's populous moving as one down the street. "They haven't noticed us yet… get your asses in gear!" Daryl hissed as he jabbed Bobby's friend in the small of the back with his crossbow arrow.

"They will when we make a run for the car. Thank god I left it running." Isobel said as they all sprinted & dove in any way they could. "I hope this thing can out run em' with all your heavy asses in it." Isobel said as she jammed the gearshift into drive.

"Hey!" Glenn said from atop the living quarters of the boat, they all ran out to see a smart car hauling ass with a large army of walkers in pursuit. "Shit, that must be the whole fucking city!" T Dog said as he scrambled to back the boat up. Isobel ditched the car & they made a run for it, they all dove onto the deck & they pulled away, but not before one could grab hold of the side of the boat. "Get off my ride." She said as she put a bullet from her revolver into its head.

"Rick, meet my brother, Bobby & his friend, Wes." Isobel said as they shook hands. "Pleasure to meet you guys, thanks for getting us out of there. "Why didn't you leave anyway with things first got bad?" Glenn asked. "We're firefighters, first responders, we had a duty… we couldn't." Bobby said, Isobel smiled proudly. "That's my bro, always the hero."

"Say Bob you never told me had a sister." Wes said, Bobby rolled his eyes. "Yes I did, a few times, you just don't listen." "I might have if I had known how beautiful she was & did you see the way she killed that freak? _Man_." He said as he gave her a wink. "You best watch what ya say, unless you want to be shark bait." Daryl said as he stepped between them, Wes flashed him a cocky grin but backed off. "Hey, man, didn't know she was yours. I was just being polite." He said.

"You guys must be exhausted, Carol will show you to your beds." Rick interjected, defusing the situation, Wes smiled. "Now there's some of that southern hospitality I keep hearing about Wes said as they followed Carol out of sight. "Something just occurred to me, doesn't Wes remind you of someone?" Lori said as they watched them go. "Yeah… Shane." Rick replied flatly.


	29. Chapter 29

**The walking dead: the dead files chapter 29**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that I didn't create.**

"We have to figure out something, Rick. We can't live on this cramped boat forever, besides, what if we find more survivors? Then what?" Lori said, Rick rubbed his face. "I know, we'll have to move back on land sometime, just… let me figure something out & talk to the rest of the group about it." he said.

"We have a decision to make, & it'd too big for me to make alone. As you all know things on this boat are becoming… cramped. We're safe here but it doesn't have the room for all of us, we need to make an alternate plan." "What kind of plan?" Andrea asked. "That's what I'm asking ya'll to help me figure out. Talk amongst yourselves, then we'll touch base on it tomorrow." He said.

"What do you guys think?" Andrea asked Isobel & Daryl as they all looked out on the observation deck later that evening. "We should go north, colder weather makes these things slower, we've seen that. If it was me, I'd head to Alaska." Isobel said, Andrea looked to Daryl, who shrugged, not meeting her gaze. "Ain't heard anyone come up with a better idea." He said curtly, his mood had been insufferable lately & Isobel had a funny feeling why; the boat's cramped quarters didn't leave much chance for alone time.

"Alaska, huh?" Rick said amusingly. "It's isolated, there's a chance this thing hasn't reached that far & even if it has the cold will be to our advantage." Isobel said. "& the rest of you agree with this?" Rick asked, no one spoke up against her. "To Alaska then." Rick said.

"Careful, now. Don't want to fall in the water here." Daryl said as tied the boat as tightly against the dock as he could as Rick helped everyone onto dry land. It looked to have been a small fishing village at one time. "We're going to have to find someplace & load up in winter gear." Rick said, shivering against the cold. "Let's check the lodges, spread out in teams of two or three, each team talk a radio." Rick said.

"Oh, thank god." Isobel said as she & Daryl pried open the door to what was once a fishing supply shop, at the rear was a small clothing section with jackets, sweaters & long underwear. Isobel unbuckled her gun belt & slid her rifle, bow & quiver off her shoulders. "Aw come on, I ain't got anything you haven't seen before." She said as he turned away quickly when she pulled her shirt & jeans off.

"Don't want to get all … hot n' bothered… we don't have time for…" he said, his face growing increasingly red as he spoke, his gaze not leaving the floor beside him, the amount of effort it took for him to keep it there was obvious by the grimace on his face." She laughed & shook her head as she finished dressing.

She turned to grab her holster when she felt a hand close on her wrist; she turned around sharply to find Daryl standing right in front of her, his face mere inches from hers. "Not havin' any alone time on that fuckin' boat's been killin' me. I can't get you outta my head." He said, his voice low & gruff with desire as he caressed the soft skin on her wrist with his thumb, causing her to shudder.

She grabbed the front of his shirt & pulled him into a rough, passionate kiss. Who was she kidding, she couldn't control herself either. Even when they were running for their lives, the thought of having his naked body grinding against hers. The way he kissed her, the way his rough, calloused hands roamed over her every curve when they made love was always in the back of her mind… & now that they had a stolen moment to themselves, it was all she could think about.

He pushed his hands under the long john top & flannel shirt she had just changed into & caressed her breasts, her kisses became more feverish as her desire mounted & she had just unbuckled his belt when her radio squawked & Rick's voice came over the frequency. "Come on, everyone, grab what you can & meet back, it's time to be pressing on." "Shit!" Daryl hissed as he glared at the ceiling in an effort to calm himself. "Copy that, lawman." Isobel said as she tossed Daryl some clothes. "Change into these while I grab what I can fit in my bag." She said.

"Clothes." She said as she tossed the bag to Rick. "Everything alright? You seem flustered." Lori said. "No… yeah… everything's fine, we were just checking things out." 'Sure… that was a way of putting it.' she thought to herself as she stole a glance at Daryl, his expression remained unchanged but she could see sparks of passion flare in his eyes when their gazes met.

"How much further?" T Dog asked breathlessly. "Shouldn't be long, according to this map we're in Denali national park, there should be a camp ground with cabins a few miles up ahead." Isobel said, suddenly, she felt Daryl nudge her & jerk his head backward, she nodded & handed the map to him before dropping back.

"How you holdin' up, Doc?" she said as she fell into step beside Hershel, who was clearly struggling. "I'm getting too old for this." She smiled. "You & me both." She said as she took him by the arm as Beth took hold of the other. "Just a few miles more, Doc, you can make it." Isobel said.

"Oh… wow!" Maggie said as they crested the last hill & the campsite came into view, it was dotted with twenty or so small camping cabins & it was fenced the whole way around with what Isobel assumed was a ten-foot tall bear-proof iron fence with razor wire around the top. A pair of imposing wooden gates as tall as the surrounding fence guarded the entrance.

"It's locked!" Beth said in disappointment, as they discovered that the gates were chained with a large padlock. "Don't talk like it's a bad thing, it means nothing's been able to get in." Isobel said as she took out an ice pick & a hammer. "I might be able to break the locking mechanism." But… we won't have any way to lock it from the inside." Beth said, Isobel smiled as she produced a brand new lock & key. "Snagged this in that shop we checked out." She said as she went to work on the lock.

There was a small, collective excited gasp from the group as, with one final hit, the lock broke. Rick & Isobel ushered everyone inside before closing & chaining the doors from the inside. "It's doubtful there is anything in here since it was locked but break off in pairs & search everything anyway, I'll remind you again… close quiet kills, we don't need anyone popping off rounds & drawing everything for miles. Once we know this place is clear, we'll start sorting out where everyone's going to stay." Rick said.

"Well?" he said as they all met back at the camp's office, everyone shook their heads. "By the looks of things this place has been barred up for a while, the infection probably didn't hit here til the end of summer, they were probably closing up for the winter anyway." Isobel said. "Well, there are enough cabins for everyone to have their own, everyone take their pick." Rick said as the group branched off.

"What about this one?" Isobel said. "Don't matter to me 's long as the only ones livin' here are me & you." Daryl replied, she nodded in agreement, lately the sexual tension between them had been thick enough to choke a moose & she knew that he needed to get his rocks off as bad as she did.

They stepped into the cabin, it was charming & fully furnished with a rustic design scheme. She didn't get to look at anything else because as soon as Daryl shed his weapons & locked the door, he was on her like a fly to honey. He scooped her up in his arms, never breaking their kiss & dropped her onto the bed. His hands seemed to take on a mind of their own as she roamed over her naked body, he was becoming lost in her taste as he kissed every inch of her skin, she suddenly grabbed his face & brought his forehead against hers. "No foreplay, not this time, just fuck me." "Why didn't ya say so?" he growled as he claimed her mouth with his.

"Dinner's ready, have you seen Daryl & Isobel?" Carol said that evening after everyone was settled in. "They rushed off to pick out their cabins… haven't seen em' since." She said, a knowing smile playing about her face. "What are you insinuating?" Maggie said, her eyes growing wide. "Oh come on, we're all adults here, you can't tell me you haven't noticed how thick the sexual tension was between them, it was like walking through a fog every time I got near them." Andrea replied.

"I knew about them, I've known for a while. But don't you go embarrassing either of them, & don't disturb them neither, even if they don't show up in time for dinner." Carol said Andrea held up her hands in defense. "I'm not going to bother them, it's just a little surprising to me, I never figured Daryl for the … loving type." "Hey… Daryl might be rough around the edges but he is a good man." Maggie commented. "Yeah & everyone deserves love, especially in a world like this, I say good for them." Beth added as Carol served their plates.

"We missed dinner." Daryl said, his voice muffled against the valley of her collarbone as they lay in each other's arms. "Eh… I can eat any time, this was worth it." she whispered against his ear as he pulled back to look into her eyes. She could see it there, something he wanted to say but just couldn't get out. She had a feeling she knew what it was. "You love me, don't you?" he pulled away from her a little, an unreadable expression washing over his face.


	30. Chapter 30

The walking dead: The dead Files chapter 30

Disclaimer: I don't own anything I don't create.

AN: Hey I toiled with this for a while, but I decided not to do it, I was going to try to branch this story off into a new 'season' of sorts but with the way I ended the last chapter I just couldn't swing it, so that'll have to happen later… don't know how much later, guess when the time feels right.

It had been a few weeks & winter was in full swing, but all in all things were good. They hadn't seen a single walker & Daryl & Isobel came back with large game almost every time. The weather was cold enough they could store their meat outside & wood fired stoves in every cabin meant they could heat & cook without electricity.

"Hey." Isobel said as she sat down at one of the picnic tables in the communal dining area next to Bobby, he gave her a warm smile as he put his arm around her. "What's shakin' lil' sis?" he said, wording the sentence more like a statement than a question. "Mom, dad & Sissy… they're all dead." She said, his head snapped up at her confession, his arm tightened around her shoulders.

"Farm got overrun. Herd moved through…" she trailed as she hurriedly wiped the tears from her cheeks, she had always hated crying in front of anyone… even her own brother, even when they would squabble as kids, she never cried. "I know, its hard, sis, but at least you're here, I'm here & from the looks of things, you've been doing alright by yourself." He said.

She chuckled. "I guess you're right, I am still alive, that has to count for something." He shook his head. "Not just that, when all this shit went down you were on your own, I know you were but you made it. You found a group &… a good guy to share your bed." He said as he nudged her playfully, she blushed. "Aw, don't be embarrassed, girl. This world needs all the love it can get, & if you guys are happy, then I'm for it." he said.

"He won't say he loves me… I know he does, or I think he does, but he won't come out verbally & say it. Last night, I kind of called him on it, I told him that he loved me, now he'd been kind of withdrawn & avoidant." she interjected, Bobby almost spit out the swig of coffee he had taken. "What the hell did you go do a thing like that for?! I swear to god you women are all alike when it comes to this… you have to hear it… those three fucking words to make it true. Listen, sis, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret about people; just because someone says they love you, doesn't mean they do, it's in their _actions_."

From behind the door, Daryl listened to them talk, he had been walking by, looking for Isobel to have a word, he usually didn't eavesdrop on other people's conversations but for some reason, he couldn't stop himself from listening.

"Actions…" Isobel repeated. "Tell me, if a situation presented itself where you had to lay down your life to keep him safe, would you?" "Yes." She answered, though she secretly hoped it never came to that. "What about him?" Isobel thought back on all the times he had her back, went looking for her when she was missing, showed up just in the nick of time.

"I trust him with my life; I know he'd give his to protect it." She replied, Bobby patted her on the back. "You've answered your own question, you don't need to hear the answer, you already know it." he said as he stood up & left her to her thoughts.

"Would ya really do it? Give your life to save mine?" His voice, low & gruff pierced the silence after a few minutes, she sighed as she stood to face him, her arms crossed over her chest. "Yes, I would, without even a second thought. He slowly traversed the distance between them, setting his crossbow down on the table as he walked around to stand in front of her.

"Look, I know I ain't good with feelings & all but…" he trailed off as he took hold of her hand & caressed the skin on the top of her wrist with his thumb, his eyes met hers & there was such turmoil, such anguish within them & her heart ached for him. She placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Daryl… I owe you an apology. I was stupid, I did the stupid woman thing & wanted to hear herbal clarification, but my brother was right, we both know what we feel & if the 'L' word makes you want to dig a hole & hide then fine, I'll never throw it in your face again. We'll just let this be what it is." She said, he suddenly pulled her into a tight hug, he said nothing & he didn't need to, everything he felt was bleeding through in his embrace.

"So, this Rick guy, how'd he come to be boss?" Wes said as he walked along the perimeter with Andrea, she shrugged, "Just happened, I guess." "That's a hell of a way to elect a leader; don't you guys believe in democracy anymore?" "Democracy died with the old world, look… we're doing alright for ourselves here, Rick is a good man, he's kept us safe so far." She said. "The man killed his best friend, does that sound good to you? Look, you & I we could run this group ten times better than he does, you know that & still you wait at his beck & call… you all do."

Andrea rounded on him. "We slept together once… once. That doesn't make us a couple, Wes, I needed to get my rocks off, so did you & we were both there. Don't think that means we're anything & if you don't like the way this group is run then there is the gate, I would say don't let it hit you in the ass on the way out but I have to say I wouldn't be disappointed if it did." She said as she walked on, leaving him stewing.

"How long's your brother known this Wes character?" Daryl said that night as he peered out of the window of the cabin, Isobel shrugged. "Says he met him when NY went to shit, they helped each other survive, why?" Daryl shook his head. "Don't trust em'." She didn't ask him to elaborate; she knew well enough that when Daryl took dislike to someone, he was usually for good reason.

"Can I have a word?" Andrea asked Isobel at breakfast the next morning, Isobel nodded & they took a walk. "Wes, I think he's going to be a problem." Andrea said as she told Isobel what happened between them last night. "He seems… he seems a lot like Shane." She said as she went into the abbreviated version of the events that took place.

"Damn." Isobel said as she stopped in her tracks. "What do you suggest we do?" "We have to tell Rick about it, but first I'm going to run it by Daryl." Isobel said.

"No shit?" Daryl said when she had told him the story Andrea has told her. "Do you think we should tell Rick? He's already got so much on his plate right now, that's why I wanted to run this by you." She said, Daryl rubbed his face. "We're fucked either way, if we tell him he's gonna be mad we brought him in here, if we don't, he'll be mad when things go to shit." "We'll tell him tomorrow." She said.

Rick looked up from showing Carl how to whittle to see Daryl & Isobel walking towards their porch. "What's up, guys?" he asked, taking stock of their serious expressions. "So… you think he's dangerous?" Rick said once they had told his what they knew. "I don't know, Bobby vouches for him, says he's a good guy, but I don't know, my bro's never been the best judge of character, trusts everyone the same, good or bad. "The way he acts, the things he says… sounds a lot like Shane." Daryl said slowly. "We'll keep an eye on him, if he causes too much of a disruption, he's gone." Rick said.

"Hey." Isobel turned around to see Wes leaning against the latter of the watch tower. "Rick make you have watch tonight?" "Yeah, one of the perks of being one of the best shooters in the group is I get to freeze my as off up here three times a week." "What about Daryl?" "He had watch last night, he wanted to sit up here with me, but I made him take the night off, hunting & keeping watch is wearing him pretty thin."

Wes climbed the rest of the way up the latter & came to stand beside her. "Beautiful isn't it?" he said as they looked out onto the Alaska wilderness, the light from the full moon made the snow glow & the light play made it seem as though millions of tiny diamonds were imbedded in it. "Say, you mind if we talk… 'man to man'?" he said as he made the quotations sign with his fingers.

"What that Rick is a bad leader & we should overthrow him?" Sorry buddy, I've already spun that record, not interested. "So you what? Keep freezing your ass off doing watch night after night?" "Hey… Rick isn't the only one who's being counted on here, they group depends on me & the others that are handy around a weapon to keep them safe." She said, her temper rising.

"You're a stupid, delusional bitch, you know that? Just like your damn friend." he said, he made to take a step forward but she had her revolver pointed between his eyes before he could even put his foot flat on the ground. "I think it's past your bed time." She said. "You'd really shoot me?" She cocked the revolver. "only if you make me, it's your choice." She said, with a murderous look on his face, he backed down & disappeared down the latter.


	31. Chapter 31

**The walking dead, the dead files chapter 31**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I don't create.**

"Where is that son of a bitch?!" Daryl growled, Isobel had told him what had gone on between her & Wes at the tower last night, she debated not telling him, but she figured it would've been ten times worse if she hadn't. Daryl wrenched the door open & stormed out into the winter day-darkness like an angry bull.

"Hey!" he said as he caught sight of Wes, & before he could even answer, Daryl was on him. He hit him with a vicious right, knocking him back on his ass. Taking advantage of Wes' shock, Daryl pinned him down with his knees & proceeded to pummel him.

"Whoa! Break it up! Break… it… UP!" Rick said as he & T Dog, attracted by the sounds of the fight hurriedly separated them, both men were bleeding & breathing heavily, their breath waiving lazily into the cold Alaskan air. "He… threatened Isobel last night on watch." Daryl spat breathlessly, Rick's face tensed. "Is this true?"

"Don't matter if it is or not, you're going to believe these bitches over me anyway." Wes said, Isobel & Andrea rolled their eyes at one another as T Dog had to grab Daryl around the middle again to stop him from launching another attack on Wes.

Rick drew his pistol & pointed it at Wes' head. "Get out." He said, there was a pause, everyone, including Wes was unsure if he was serious. Rick gave him a shove towards the entrance "I said get out! We don't tolerate your kind here." He said. "& what kind is that… _Officer_? Big talk for someone who has a piece of backwoods trash like this for his wingman." He said as he gave a condescending look toward Daryl. "Lemme go… I'll kill em!" Daryl raged as he bucked against T Dog's bear hug restraint.

Suddenly, as if she appeared out of thin air, Isobel stood between Daryl, Rick, T Dog. There was a cold, calculating & ruthless expression on her beautiful features. "You'd better back off, bitch, before you get mixed up with something you'll regret. Isobel's hand went to her gun belt, Rick opened his mouth to protest but instead of drawing her weapons, she unbuckled it & tossed it aside.

"You think you can take me? Fine, let's see what ya got." She said, her hands on her hips. "What are you fucking CRAZY?!" Daryl bellowed as he fought against T Dog, who gave Rick a worried look; understandably so, Wes wasn't a small man, he was built like T Dog & twice as tall. One blow from him would surely knock Isobel out or worse. Rick however noticed that the women of their group didn't bother to hide their smirks.

Wes threw a punch at her, it was clear he had had some kind of training, likely boxing. She easily dodged it & hit him with a devastating roundhouse kick to the side of the head before he could even recoil his arm, half ass knocked out, he fell hard on his back. Isobel walked up, & put the heel of her boot into his chest.

"If I ever see you around here again, I won't waste time kicking your ass… I'll kill you." She said as Rick forced Wes to his feet. "Brother, come on! We had each other's backs back in NYC, man!" "Sorry, dude. You were on your own the minute you tried to hurt my sister." He said as he stepped forward & helped Rick drag Wes to the gate.

"They heaved him outside, pitching him face first into the fresh powered snow & closed & locked the gate behind him. "You'll be sorry! You'll see!" he raged as he beat the gate with his fist. "HEY man! Get lost unless you want to get shot in the knee, then we'll see how long you last. Walkers ain't the only predators in the forest, you know." T Dog said as he cocked his pistol, giving him a murderous look, Wes backed up & started back up the path they had first come in on.

"You think it was the right call? Throwing him out like that?" Hershel asked. "that town we passed through's a few miles back, if he's smart, he'll head that way & stay the night before heading out." Isobel said. "That's what he did, I waited & made sure he was gone & he headed out that way." T Dog said as he joined him.

"& you didn't know he was like that?" Rick said, all eyes were suddenly on Bobby, who threw up his hands. "No, man he wasn't even my friend… look it got bad in NY quick, I saved him from a bunch of those things after the city got overrun, two pair of eyes is better than one so we just… stuck together." Bobby said, Rick nodded, seemingly satisfied with the explanation.

"Girl I gotta say you're bad ass bitch." Daryl said as they walked back to their cabin, Isobel chuckled. "Thanks but let's refrain from using the 'b-word', I've heard enough of it & my name in the same sentence for one day. Besides, anyone who calls you a piece of backwoods trash's got it comin' fucking northerners. Always think they're better than everyone else." She said through gritted teeth, he chuckled.

Wes did a sharp about face from his perch at the bar as the door to what was once a tavern banged open & two men burst through. All three drew their guns on each other, the two strangers were the first to speak. "Hey, man, its cool. We don't know you & you don't know us, there's no reason we have to go pumping each other full of steal." The elder of the two said as they lowered their weapons.

"Say, what's a fellow like you doing out here all alone, don't you have a group?" Wes ground his teeth. "used to, but its full of backwoods redneck scum & fucking bitches who don't know their place." The two men smiled at each other. "You should come back with us, we're just a bunch of guys, no women, no kids, you'd like us. We get a little crazy sometimes but it's all in good fun." Wes smiled. "Lead the way."

Isobel nodded to Carl as he joined her atop one of the outdoor picnic tables. "It's so beautiful here, do you think we'll stay here for a while?" "Winter's settin' in, Carl, soon the sun'll barely skim the horizon. Looks like we'll be stuck here til spring." Carl smiled. "Good." She chuckled. "You know, being from Texas, I never liked the cold, hated it. But, I have to admit that I'm starting to like it a little more these days." She ruffled Carl's hair under his hat, which she suddenly noticed, now fit almost perfectly.

"Maybe soon I'll be takin' you hunting with me. But not until I am confident your shooting is second nature, don't want you facing down a charging grizzly & freeze up on me." She said. "I've been practicing, every day!" he said indignantly, she nodded. "I know you have. But even the best shooters freeze up, I have, everyone has at some point. Besides what kind of instructor would I be if I sent you out there, half-cocked?" She said with a smile as she caught sight of Daryl walking towards her.

"Speaking of hunting, that's what we're going to do now, help your dad hold down the fort while I'm gone, ok?" she said, placing a hand on his shoulder before meeting Daryl half way. "You've taken a shine to that kid." He said, she smiled.

"Yeah, he's a good kid, regardless of what they might think, Rick & Lori have done a swell job raising him, he just wants to help & be a man so bad, you know? I'm just trying to keep him reined in so he doesn't go all Eager Beaver on me & get himself killed." She said as they stopped at the threshold of a clearing. "Would you look at that." She said he followed her gaze skyward & took in a sharp breath as they watched the Aurora Borealis flicker across the inky night sky.

"I've always wanted to see them in person." She said, Daryl however, suddenly grabbed her & forced them both behind a large pine tree, he wordlessly jerked his head straight ahead, she looked with her binoculars, sure enough it was figures, not walkers, humans. It was getting to the point where she feared the humans more than the walkers. At least when you met walkers, you knew what they were after, with people it was different.

"What do you think we should do?" "We gotta follow em', if they're part of a bigger group, Rick'll want to know." 'Lead the way, I'll cover you." She said.


	32. Chapter 32

**The walking dead: the dead files, chapter 32**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I haven't created.**

"Aww, Lordy!" Isobel hissed as they crept up the crest of the hill & looked over, it was a camp, a big one, by the looks of it they had at least fifty men. "They look well organized from what I can see, we need to get back & tell Rick, if this group rolls through, we ain't gonna have a snowballs' chance in hell." Daryl said.

"How far?" Rick said as they all met for dinner, all eyes were on Isobel & Daryl. "Bout five miles from here, give or take. From what I could see they're pretty well armed, Lawman, there's about fifty or so of them, & only about ten of us. I don't have to tell you how it'll end for us." She said. "Then we'll leave, we'll get the hell out of here." "With weather like this? We won't make it five miles." Daryl interjected,

Rick slammed his palm down onto the table, causing a few people to startle. "Look…" Daryl said as he stepped forward. "This place is pretty secure, the fences are made to withstand bears, I don't think there's much of a chance of a person getting through." "We'll station two guards in the towers diagonal of each other so we can cover the whole perimeter. I'm one of the best shooters, I'll take the point watch." Isobel said.

"I want to take a shift too." Carl spoke up, Lori made to open her mouth but Rick gently stopped her. "You know, that's not a bad idea, he's been practicing, he knows his way around a rifle well enough to take a watch shift." He said as he smiled down at his son, who beamed up at him.

"You sure you want to pull an every-nighter?" Daryl asked from his spot in bed as he turned to look at her, propping himself up with his arm. "Can you think of anyone else who can exact a kill shot from five hundred yards?" He chuckled. "Nope." She sighed. "Sometimes it sucks to be good." She said jokingly as she headed out.

"You you doin', kid?" Isobel said to Carl as she crested the latter to the tower. "Fine, nothing's moving, not even animals." He said as he handed her the binoculars. "Probably too damn cold." She said. "Good you, dude. Go get some sleep, here?" She said as he climbed down the latter.

The only inkling of dawn was the sun making its daily skim of the horizon before shyly dipping down once more. "Anything?" Rick asked at breakfast the next morning, Isobel shook her head as she swallowed a mouth of food. "I reckon they are hunkered down too, their camp is in a valley, quite an uphill trek to us in the dark, I suppose they are getting their food from the meadow about a mile or so beyond their campsite. I doubt we'll see hide nor hair of them til spring." She said.

"But that's even if they're even dangerous to begin with, they could be just like us for all we know." Andrea said. "Still, come spring we're going to have a decision to make, it's going to warm up & the walkers will become more active so we might have a very small window for getting out of here if that's what we plan to do." Isobel said. "If we wait too long, we could be surrounded… & not just by walkers." Daryl added. "Well… we have until February when the sun rises again & the temperature becomes safe to travel again." Andrea said.

"Do you really think we should wait?" Isobel spoke up., the whole table fell silent & all eyes were on her. "I think we should go now, we get to that town, there are a few cars we can rig to at least get us below the artic circle." Rick turned to Daryl. "What do you think?" Daryl shrugged. "We're sitting ducks here, but it's up to you." He said, Rick looked around the table at the others. "We're sitting ducks here, I think we should go." Andrea said.

Hearing no more protests, Rick stood. "Ok, Daryl & Isobel I need you to start putting together food & other survival supplies, Carol, Andrea & Lori I want you to be in charge of personal needs & clothes." Everyone wordlessly jumped to their assigned tasks.

"You say there are others?" a man by the name of George said. "Yeah about ten, fifteen or so, mostly women & children; about five miles from here at the old campgrounds." Wes said, George chuckled. "They pose no threat, come springtime we'll move on them, fifteen people aint worth the risk of heading out here in this weather." George said, Wes looked unhappy but he was in no position to argue, he had seen what happens to those who disagree with George's rulings.

Rick & the group headed out in silence, Lori threw one last dejected look at the plush campsite they were leaving behind. "I'm sorry Lori, we have no choice, we gotta keep on the move." Rick said, Lori said nothing. "Dad? I have a suggestion… on where we could go." Carl said as he fell into step beside his father. "Why don't we go to the Grand Canyon like we always wanted?" Rick smiled. "I can't see why not, but we'll see. Ok?" As they walked into the snowy darkness.

_A/N: Whew! I'm sorry for the lack of update, guys I have had a severe case of writer's block & I don't think this chapter is very good, oh well… I tried LOL._


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